rootshell: Local Terminal, SSH

rootshell: Local Terminal, SSH

VPN over SSH and tssh

50 ratings
23 reviews
#169 in free Developer Tools
📊 Productivity
🛠️ Developer Tools
Free

Details

Released
April 19, 2026
Updated
October 26, 2026

Background Location Access

rootshell: Local Terminal, SSH screenshot #1 for iPhone
rootshell: Local Terminal, SSH screenshot #2 for iPhone
rootshell: Local Terminal, SSH screenshot #3 for iPhone
rootshell: Local Terminal, SSH screenshot #4 for iPhone
rootshell: Local Terminal, SSH screenshot #5 for iPhone
rootshell: Local Terminal, SSH screenshot #6 for iPhone
rootshell: Local Terminal, SSH screenshot #7 for iPhone
iphone
ipad
🖼️Get Icon
Icons↘︎

About

This app provides a powerful, desktop-class terminal emulator with GPU acceleration and native support for SSH, Mosh, and tssh. It offers features like system-wide VPN over SSH, native Git integration, and AI assistance for hands-free command execution and web searches.

✓GPU-accelerated terminal
✓Native SSH and Mosh support
✓System-wide VPN over SSH
✓Native Git client
✓AI voice and text agents
✓Cloud and Kubernetes integration
✓Hardware security key support
Show original description
+1

What's New in rootshell

1.0.15

October 26, 2026

Detached Keyboard & iPhone Duo - Float the built-in Terminal Keyboard over the terminal on iPhone. Long-press the keyboard switch key and choose Detached; drag the ellipsis handle to move it. - Placement and position are remembered after relaunch. On iPad, the menu is available with Use System Detached Keyboard off. - On iOS 27.1 and later, the docked terminal keyboard splits around iPhone Duo's fold, with a space bar on each side. Toolbar buttons and swipe pages also avoid the fold. The floating keyboard settles clear of it where space allows. - Fixed iPad system detached keyboard dragging, resizing and drawer clipping, plus full-width keyboard flashes when focusing terminals or switching tabs. Improved keyboard focus during Duo folds and herdr tab restoration. Remote Ports - Discover listening TCP ports on remote hosts with Show Remote Ports in Settings > Appearance > Window. Tap the globe at the terminal's bottom-right, then choose a port to forward it and open its page in a rootshell tab. - Edit the address to change paths or use HTTP/HTTPS, including self-signed development servers on that forward. Port menus offer Copy Local URL and Stop Forward. - Supports SSH, tssh and the retained SSH connection for Mosh/Roam, including tmux and herdr control-mode panes. Restored Mosh/Roam sessions need a fresh SSH bootstrap after relaunch. - Off by default. Scans run for visible terminals while the app is in the foreground. Tunnels bind only to this device and end with the connection. Screen Sharing - Connect to wayshare servers on Linux, including Hyprland desktops, using Apple SRP in Standard or High Performance mode. New Remote System choices recognize wayshare automatically or let you select Linux to send Option as Alt. - Fixed Standard mode waiting indefinitely for the first image on Macs with multiple displays, cropped displays and misplaced clicks, and VeNCrypt TLS handshake failures with servers such as WayVNC. Agent Push Notifications - Added Pi, Oh My Pi and Hermes integrations for completed turns, failures and supported requests for input. Notification titles include the sending hostname. - Fixed lost notifications from one-shot Codex commands and improved Pi/Oh My Pi completion delivery. - Update rootshell-notify on each sending computer with Install or Upgrade the Hook Client in Push Notification settings, then restart agents or reload extensions. For Hermes, also run hermes plugins enable rootshell-push. Custom Keys & Sessions - New Symbols tab in the key-combination picker for custom toolbar keys and swipe gestures. Fixed Shift/Ctrl combinations with digits and punctuation, modifiers on Page Up/Down, and lost Shift in custom combinations under Neovim's kitty keyboard protocol. - Fixed tssh dropping terminal pixel-size replies, restoring graphics sizing in remote apps such as terminal-browser, including tssh launched from the local shell. - Fixed tmux focus jumping back after rapid pane changes. Switching zmx sessions in Exposé now moves only the selected pane, keeps attach commands out of shell history and restores the chosen session after reconnecting or relaunching. Local Tools & Reliability - Updated Vim to 9.2.1225 with security fixes and restored missing runtime files for syntax support and Python indentation. - Updated tssh/VPN certificate validation and curl's certificate bundle to reject compromised eMudhra CA keys. - Fixed launch hangs and crashes while restoring bookmarked folders, and local-shell crashes when the working folder was deleted or inaccessible. - Fixed iPad tab-menu freezes, Command+T opening an unfocused shell behind Connections, Escape failing to dismiss Connections, and launch commands not executing in remote Windows consoles. - Floating File Manager, HTTP Capture and Find panels can move over the pinned tab sidebar. Fixed theme matching after closing a window. Notifications now reveal panes hidden by a zoomed or full-screen sibling.

More

Charts

Top Free

📈 169+4

Developer Tools

This app rose +4 positions in Developer Tools chart.

Last updated on October 28, 2026.

User reviews

I got this because it uses libghostty

I was looking for an iOS terminal that supports kitty image protocol. This one fits the bill. I am updating my review: image support is working!!!!

Response from developer

It appears you are running the older version without full Kitty Image support. Please update to the latest version which supports things like terminal browser etc over SSH connections with the full Kitty Image support present in libghostty. rootshell also supports additional image capabilities not present in upstream libghostty. If you are still having trouble after updating I’d suggest opening an issue on GitHub with steps to reproduce the issue you are experiencing.

Best terminal I’ve used with agents

Supports herdr. MIT licensed. Libghostty based. What more could you ask for?

All In One App

My absolute favorite AIO app for remoting into my systems with SSH and VNC.

I got this because it uses libghostty

I am looking for an iOS terminal that supports kitty image protocol. I found this terminal to have lots of nice features, and uses libghostty, but it doesnt support the image protocol. When sending images it chugs real hard and won't display anything. I bet you can get this fixed easily!

Awesome

Really happy for such a high quality terminal on iOS. Great job!

Developer apps

FAQ

What is rootshell?

rootshell is a desktop-class terminal emulator built on a GPU-accelerated engine. It offers native SSH, Mosh compatibility, system-wide VPN over SSH, native Git, and AI assistance, all within a single application.

Does rootshell have ads?

No, rootshell is ad-free. The application is available for free and does not contain advertisements, allowing for an uninterrupted user experience.

What protocols does rootshell support for remote connections?

rootshell supports native SSH with various key exchange algorithms including post-quantum options. It also offers Mosh-compatible roaming sessions and tssh integration with QUIC and KCP transport for lower latency.

Can rootshell be used as a VPN?

Yes, rootshell can turn any SSH or tssh session into a system-wide VPN. This allows you to route all your device traffic through your remote server using standard SSH, QUIC, or KCP transport without requiring extra server software.

How does rootshell integrate with tmux?

rootshell provides native tmux integration by allowing you to attach in control mode. This transforms tmux windows into native tabs and panes into real splits, enabling seamless copy, paste, search, and scrolling with native gestures.

What AI features are available in rootshell?

rootshell includes a voice AI agent that can read scrollback, run commands over SSH hands-free, and search the web. There's also optional text AI integration with models like Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini for command execution and output analysis.

Is rootshell suitable for managing cloud resources?

Yes, rootshell supports connections to major cloud providers like AWS, Azure, and DigitalOcean. You can browse instances, access serial consoles, and generate EKS kubeconfigs, as well as debug Kubernetes nodes.

What is the rating and update frequency of rootshell?

rootshell has a high rating of 4.8 stars from 23 ratings. It was last updated on June 29, 2026, indicating active development and maintenance.