# Shellvana — SSH rendered as readable text

> SSH rendered as readable text (iPhone/iPad app by Paul Reioux.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shellvana/id6803716803 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Paul Reioux](https://appshunter.io/developer/6803716805)
- Category: Productivity, Developer Tools
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 15.0 · 26 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2026-08-27
- Data updated: 2026-10-24

## What is Shellvana?

Shellvana is an SSH client that renders terminal output as readable text instead of a shrunken 80-column grid.

It connects to any server running standard sshd. There is nothing to install on the host.

WHAT IT DOES DIFFERENTLY

Shellvana negotiates a fixed terminal size with the server, then decides block by block how each piece of output should be shown. Paragraphs and prose reflow into comfortable proportional type sized for a phone. Tables, diffs, tree output, and anything column-aligned stay in monospace at their exact original spacing, because reflowing those destroys them.

You can switch any session to the raw terminal grid at any time. The exact bytes the server sent are always one tap away.

READS OUTPUT FROM TERMINAL AI CODING AGENTS

Command-line coding assistants such as Claude Code and opencode draw themselves as full-screen terminal interfaces. They repaint lines in place, wrap text at their own width, and surround answers with banners, spinners, and status footers.

Shellvana reads them. It separates each answer into its own message and reflows the prose the agent wrapped at its own width, with inline code in monospace. Code in an answer keeps its exact grid, one tap from the raw terminal. Ask a question on your phone and read the answer as prose.

WORKS WITH REAL TERMINAL PROGRAMS

Full terminal emulation, so vim, htop, tmux, and zellij run normally. When a program takes over the screen, Shellvana shows the live grid and renders a readable version alongside it.

HOW YOUR DATA IS HANDLED

No account. No sign-up. No analytics, advertising, or crash-reporting library.  Shellvana makes no network connection except the SSH connection you ask for, directly to the server you configured.

Specifically:

- Session transcripts are encrypted on the device with SQLCipher, keyed from the platform secure store.
- The app is excluded from operating-system backup, so transcripts and pinned host keys are not copied into iCloud backup.
- Private keys are held in the iOS Keychain. Keys generated in the Secure Enclave cannot be extracted from the device at all.
- You can require a Face ID, Touch ID, or device-unlock check before a session opens on any host you mark.
- Screenshots and app-switcher previews of a session are blocked by default.
- The composer asks the keyboard not to learn or cache what you type, so commands and secrets stay out of the system dictionary.
- Shellvana pins each server's host key on first connection and warns you if it ever changes, using an allowlist of host key algorithms.
- Links found in output open only after you confirm the destination, and always in your own browser, never inside the app.

Clear one host's history or all of it whenever you want. Transcripts older than 30 days delete themselves.

FREE AND PRO

Free: one live session, password and key authentication, host profiles, and the complete readable rendering with colour and Markdown. The readability is not the paid part.

Pro is a single one-time purchase, no subscription: four concurrent sessions, hardware-backed key authentication, the additional reading fonts, and incognito sessions that write no transcript at all.

REQUIREMENTS

Any host running standard sshd. Phones. Portrait or landscape.

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Shellvana Pro | $19.99 | one-time |


## Is Shellvana safe?

Not enough ratings yet to assess Shellvana.

## Is Shellvana legit?

Shellvana has limited verification signals. The AppsHunter Legitimacy Score for Shellvana is 58 out of 100 points across 7 verification signals from App Store and developer data.


## Version history (last 3 releases)

### 1.1.1 — 2026-10-20

New App Store screenshots. No changes to the app.

### 1.1.0 — 2026-10-15

Attach to tmux. Turn it on in a host profile and Shellvana attaches to a named tmux session on connect, then reattaches after a drop or a screen lock instead of opening a fresh shell.

Generate an SSH key on your phone. "New key" creates an Ed25519 key on the device, in the free tier.

Session history is now excluded from device and iCloud backup.

Plus fixes to links, sessions, keys, and the six languages.

### 1.0.0 — 2026-08-28

No release notes.

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-10-24.*