# Shelly - SSH Client — SSH Terminal, Shell, Console

> Usable and performant SSH client with gesture control and customization. (iPhone/iPad app by Touch Foo.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shelly-ssh-client/id989642999 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Touch Foo](https://appshunter.io/developer/331891508)
- Category: Developer Tools, Utilities
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 4.40/5 from 273 App Store ratings · 351 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 13.0 · 11 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2016-06-11
- Data updated: 2026-08-26
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shelly-ssh-client/id989642999/reviews.md

## What is Shelly?

SSH client designed for usability and performance.

RELIABLE AND FAST
• Hardware accelerated text rendering.
• Robust terminal emulation based on the PuTTY engine.
• Works great with programs such as 'screen' and 'irssi'.

CONTROL WITH GESTURES
• Default gestures optimized for irssi. Just swipe to switch channels or to scroll up and down.
• Fully customizable. Any keypress or action can be attached to any gesture.

EASY CONNECTING
• Save user credentials and configure a remote command such as ‘screen -rd’ to connect with one tap.
• 3D touch support. Connect directly from the iOS home screen.

CUSTOMIZABLE KEYBOARD
• Easily bind custom actions to buttons on the keyboard toolbar.
• Works with custom iOS keyboards such as SwiftKey.

OPEN LINKS AND SELECT TEXT
• Familiar iOS text selection experience. Long-press on text to show the selection controls.
• Copy and paste text.
• Select a URL to easily open it in the web browser.

OTHER FEATURES
• iCloud sync support.
• Terminal color themes. Choose your favorite from the several themes included or make your own.
• Key file authentication support. Import an existing private key, or create a new key and export the public key.
• Host key verification and management.
• Agent forwarding (OpenSSH servers only).
• Keep connections alive while the app is in the background.
• Connection history with optional realtime location data.
• Plenty of other configuration options.

Please note that some features require a paid upgrade. You can try all features for free for a limited time.

## Key features

- Hardware accelerated text rendering
- Robust terminal emulation
- Gesture control for navigation
- Customizable keyboard toolbar
- Key file authentication
- iCloud sync support
- Terminal color themes

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Upgrade To Pro | $3.99 | one-time |


## What do users think of Shelly?

Overall sentiment: positive

**Pros**

- 🚀 Lightweight and fast
- 👍 Customizable keyboard and gestures
- 🔒 Supports SSH key authentication
- 💡 Useful shortcuts and toolbar
- 👍 Reliable background connections
- 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
- 💡 Supports ANSI art and color codes
- 🚀 Minimal interface, no unnecessary frills

**Cons**

- 🐛 Occasional connection drops when switching apps
- 🐛 Toolbar issues with hardware keyboard
- 🐛 Garbled display with some terminal programs
- 🐛 Lack of support for newer SSH key formats
- 🐛 Inconsistent behavior with password managers

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Saved profiles get overwritten unexpectedly
- Toolbar persists even with auto-hide enabled
- Cursor movement issues with hardware keyboard
- Inability to copy/paste with Magic Keyboard

**Most requested features**

- Add support for port forwarding
- Implement Mosh protocol support
- Allow customization of default font
- Provide option for multiple app instances
- Add ability to remap hardware keyboard keys

## Recent user reviews (10 of 351)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shelly-ssh-client/id989642999/reviews.md

### 5/5 — Ben

*2026-06-16, version 1.4.6*

Awesome, use it daily for remote access and coding

### 4/5 — El mejor y más robusto

*2026-05-15, version 1.4.6*

Es el mejor y más robusto manteniendo las conexiones. Tienes que darle a una opción para que iOS lo deje como app de fondo si no quieres que se corte pronto al salirse un momento de la app. Prácticamente no necesitas mosh con esta app

Solo echo de menos que no desaparezca el teclado al tocar la pantalla y que tuviera una resolución de nombres independiente de la del sistema. Útil si usas Pihole

### 4/5 — Great SSH client — very polished and almost perfect.

*2026-04-01, version 1.4.6*

The only thing I’d love to see is support for Shift JIS encoding. That would make it perfect!

### 4/5 — Kex algorithms

*2026-03-25, version 1.4.5*

Hi, Support soon for mlkem761x25519-sha256. Thanks

### 5/5 — Amazing for working on a remote computer.

*2026-03-11, version 1.4.5*

This is the best app for ssh. Mapping gestures to tmux controls changed my life!!!

### 4/5 — It’s great

*2026-02-20, version 1.4.3*

I tried to activate the dictation feature but it duplicates the input hope this can be solved in a future update

### 4/5 — OSC52 is not supported…

*2025-12-29, version 1.4.3*

I like this client for being lightweight and fast. However, the lack of OSC 52 clipboard support makes it unusable for my SSH/tmux/Neovim workflow (keyboard-based copying). I have requested a refund. Are there plans to support this standard escape sequence? For reference, this test fails in Shelly:
printf "\033]52;c;$(printf "Hello Shelly" | base64)\a"

### 5/5 — Nice ssh client

*2025-12-26, version 1.4.3*

Simple, just works.

### 5/5 — The best SSH client for iOS

*2025-11-25, version 1.4.3*

Been using this for years and I’ve tried all the popular alternatives. I have a current subscription for Termius and Prompt 3 but nothing beats the usability of Shelly. Somehow those expensive apps can’t get the keyboard right. My only wish is that the developer would switch to subscription pricing and use the money to fund more development. It would be really cool if it could do secure enclave keys and mosh connections. But as it is I’m very happy and anyone leaving negative reviews for this when it’s a cheap one-off purchase and the competition are all subscriptions is an idiot.

### 3/5 — Ok terminal

*2025-10-09, version 1.4.3*

But seems to be missing one essential feature, I can’t change the font.

## Frequently asked questions about Shelly

### What does the Shelly SSH Client app do?

This app functions as a reliable and fast SSH client, enabling users to connect to and manage remote servers. It provides robust terminal emulation, gesture controls for navigation, and customizable keyboard toolbars for enhanced usability and performance.

### What are the key features of Shelly?

Key features include hardware-accelerated text rendering, robust terminal emulation based on the PuTTY engine, gesture controls for navigation, customizable keyboard shortcuts, key file authentication, iCloud sync, and terminal color themes. Some advanced features require a paid upgrade.

### Is Shelly SSH Client free to use?

The app offers a free trial period where all features can be tested. After the trial, some features require a paid upgrade, indicating a freemium or free with in-app purchases monetization model. There are no advertisements within the app.

### What platforms is Shelly compatible with?

While the description doesn't explicitly state all compatible platforms, it mentions features like '3D touch support' and 'Works with custom iOS keyboards such as SwiftKey', strongly suggesting it is designed for iOS devices. It also supports iCloud sync, which is an Apple ecosystem feature.

### What are common use cases for this SSH client?

Common use cases include remotely managing servers, accessing command-line interfaces on remote machines, running scripts, editing files, and monitoring system processes. Its gesture controls and customizable keyboard make it efficient for tasks like managing screen sessions or navigating IRC clients.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.4.6 — 2026-03-31

New in 1.4.6:
• Fixed an issue with restoring in-app purchases on another device.
• Fixed an issue where after deleting a key file, it remained loaded until app restart.

New in 1.4.5:
• Fixed right-swipe navigation gesture conflicting with terminal gestures.

New in 1.4.4:
• Updated Nerd Fonts.
• Shift+Enter is now mapped to \n when using an external hardware keyboard in order to enter newlines in agentic CLI tools.
• Shift+Tab and Shift+Enter key combinations can now be added to the on-screen keyboard toolbar.
• Fixed various UI layout issues and bugs.

### 1.4.5 — 2026-03-02

New in 1.4.5:
• Fixed right-swipe navigation gesture conflicting with terminal gestures.

New in 1.4.4:
• Updated Nerd Fonts.
• Shift+Enter is now mapped to \n when using an external hardware keyboard in order to enter newlines in agentic CLI tools.
• Shift+Tab and Shift+Enter key combinations can now be added to the on-screen keyboard toolbar.
• Fixed various UI layout issues and bugs.

### 1.4.4 — 2026-02-26

New in 1.4.4:
• Updated Nerd Fonts.
• Shift+Enter is now mapped to \n when using an external hardware keyboard in order to enter newlines in agentic CLI tools.
• Shift+Tab and Shift+Enter key combinations can now be added to the on-screen keyboard toolbar.
• Fixed various UI layout issues and bugs.

### 1.4.3 — 2025-07-01

New in 1.4.3:
- Fixed opening links / URLs from within the app.

New in 1.4.2:
- Fixed a UI layout issue where the terminal contents was sometimes obscured by the keyboard toolbar.

### 1.4.2 — 2025-06-24

New in 1.4.2:
- Fixed a UI layout issue where the terminal contents was sometimes obscured by the keyboard toolbar.

## Apps similar to Shelly

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [SSH Client - Terminal & Termux](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ssh-client-terminal-and-termux/id1475741280) | 3.6 (406) | Free | Developer Tools |
| [Termius - Modern SSH Client](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/termius-modern-ssh-client/id549039908) | 4.7 (18,903) | Free | Developer Tools |
| [xTerminal - SSH Terminal Shell](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/xterminal-ssh-terminal-shell/id1544728400) | 4.7 (1,919) | Free | Developer Tools |
| [xTerm256 Terminal & SSH Client](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/xterm256-terminal-and-ssh-client/id1544449135) | 4.6 (58) | Free | Developer Tools |
| [WebSSH - Sysadmin Toolbox](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/webssh-sysadmin-toolbox/id497714887) | 4.7 (2,515) | Free | Developer Tools |
| [SSH Client - Secure ShellFish](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ssh-client-secure-shellfish/id1336634154) | 4.8 (1,468) | Free | Developer Tools |

## More apps by Touch Foo

- [Soosiz](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/soosiz/id331891505)
- [Swordigo](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/swordigo/id499125840)

All apps by Touch Foo: https://appshunter.io/developer/331891508

## Related topics

[shelly ssh](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/shelly-ssh) · [putty](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/putty) · [console putty](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/console-putty) · [shally](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/shally) · [shelly](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/shelly) · [connect ssh](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/connect-ssh) · [putty ssh](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/putty-ssh) · [free ssh client](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/free-ssh-client) · [vssh lite](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/vssh-lite)

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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 2026-08-26.*