# UCoW - Ultimate Code Wrapper — optimize vscode for mobile use

> Unified access to online code editors with enhanced mobile controls. (iPhone/iPad app by Christoph Gogolin.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ucow-ultimate-code-wrapper/id1551344923 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Christoph Gogolin](https://appshunter.io/developer/511901280)
- Category: Developer Tools, Productivity
- Price: $3.99
- Rating: 3.80/5 from 12 App Store ratings · 24 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 14.5 · 3 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2021-08-23
- Data updated: 2026-08-27
- Monetization: paid
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ucow-ultimate-code-wrapper/id1551344923/reviews.md

## What is UCoW?

The Ultimate Code Wrapper gives you the ability to access all your Code-Server, OpenVSCode Server, gitpod, github.dev, vscode.dev*, github codespaces, github1s, jupyter notebooks, jetbrains projector and stackblitz online instances in one place "with tweeks". That means you can use all defined and global shortcuts without the limitation of a browser. 
UCoW also adds a custom Keybar, including an innovative new "cursor control stick" to the virtual keyboard.

Short features overview: 
• Access to all keyboard shortcuts (physical keyboard required)
• Extra Key-bar with many onscreen shortcuts 
(including a virtual stick to move the cursor without a trackpad/mouse)
• Best possible performance on iPad devices
• Quick switch between multiple code-server instances 
• Optimized Trackpad support
• Multi instance and window support 
• Editor scale/zoom support

••• ! ••• This app requires a self hosted code-server instance 
or an account at one of the supported services ••• ! •••

Supported Services:
• Code-Server (self-hosted) 
You can download code-server at: https://github.com/cdr/code-server
• NEW! OpenVSCode Server (self-hosted)
Download it at: https://github.com/gitpod-io/openvscode-server
• NEW! Support for VSCode and Jupyter Notebook Add-On in Home Assistant (www.home-assistant.io)
• NEW! Join a live share (VSCode Extension) on https://VSCode.dev via URL or Liveshare id

• Gitpod (gitpod.io)
• Github Codespaces (github.com/features/codespaces)
• Github1s (github1s.com)
• Stackblitz (stackblitz.com)
• VSCode.dev* (github.dev)
• Jetbrains Projector  (jetbrains.com/projector)
• Jupyter Notebooks (jupyter.org)
• more services will follow soon


* IMPORTANT! for VSCode.dev (VS Code Server & Liveshare) there is an new separate App available on the AppStore. 
Please check out: "VSCoW - Code Wrapper" for this case. 


••• ! ••• An internet connection is required to work


••• ! ••• An external keyboard is recommended to use the app since selection with the touch cursor is not supported in VSCode at this moment.

This is a wrapper app only and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft Corporation.

## Key features

- Unified access to online code instances
- Customizable keybar with cursor control
- Full keyboard shortcut support
- Optimized performance for iPad
- Quick switching between instances
- Multi-instance and window support

## Chart rankings

- #135 in Top Paid · Developer Tools (US App Store)

## Recent user reviews (10 of 24)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ucow-ultimate-code-wrapper/id1551344923/reviews.md

### 4/5 — Decent Tool

*2025-06-12*

Know what you are getting: this is a wrapper of web vscode. Connecting to code spaces worked well for me on my iPad.
Something I would love to see is for this to use the fully extended space of an external display connected an iPhone like many games do. That would be a game changer for me. Since this is missing, I deducted a star.

### 1/5 — Don’t buy this app

*2025-01-23*

It is just vs code on the web if you want that or you can connect other things to the app it is not good i have been looking for a good app to code for a while and i thought this on was the one but noooooo

### 5/5 — Everything I’ve been looking for!

*2025-01-01*

I’ve been looking for an app that allows me to collect all my GitHub Codespaces on my iPad in a single app - allowing me to swap between them easily and appearing like a native app. You *can* add a GitHub Codespace as a PWA to your iPad homescreen, but each codespace becomes a separate Home Screen icon, not ideal. UCoW allows me to keep them all collected. I haven’t tried the other connectors as I use GitHub Codespaces for my personal projects, but can firmly say that if you work on GitHub Codespaces on an iPad, this app is a must have!

### 1/5 — Не работает extra key.

*2024-10-10*

Не работают extra key. Без этого приложение бесполезное.

### 3/5 — 运行

*2024-05-19*

所以只能看和编辑程序但是不能跑是吧？

### 1/5 — Doesn’t Work

*2024-02-27*

Total waste of time, doesn’t work on iPad!

### 3/5 — Generally good, but not satisfying

*2023-11-21*

Overall it is good, thanks for developing this app. However some features can be improved and a bug can be fixed.

I am using self-hosted Code Server, my device is an iPad with a physical keyboard. The home indicator, which refers to the line at the bottom of the screen, always exists and breaks the immersion. Also, when I am using the physical keyboard, the little virtual one take some place on the screen. 

There is a bug when using the physical keyboard. When I use the Secondary Click, which means using two fingers to tap on the trackpad, both the app quick action menu and vscode’s one show up.

### 5/5 — My go-to app for coding outside work

*2023-09-09*

tl;dr: Great app. Great support. This is THE way to code away from your Mac.

I like to keep work and personal time separate, so I generally don’t like turning on my work computer outside of work hours (the MacBook Pro I use for work is my only computer).  Having this app and a code-server instance hosted on my main cloud linux server allows me to take my 12.9” iPad Pro (with attached magic keyboard) wherever I want and code from there, having a setup that’s almost as good as working on the Mac (though iPad will never be a full match for the Mac as a development device, and I don’t have a second monitor I can use out on the couch).

After the update a while back to support stage manager (which I don’t use), I had been having an issue where cmd-w would close the app instead of the active tab.  As a heavy keyboard shortcut user who always hides tab close buttons to avoid mis-clicks, that gave me a lot of trouble, so I was stuck using my workaround cmd-shift-w. When I finally contacted the developer earlier this week (Tuesday), I got a reply within 24 hours saying a fix was on the way and would be out once Apple finished reviewing it.  When I checked for updates yesterday afternoon (Friday), the update was there, and I installed it and tried it out.  Initially, it had switched from closing the app to doing nothing, so I contacted the developer again and got a response back this morning telling me to change a setting in the editor, and after changing that setting and reloading the editor, the cmd-w shortcut was working great.

I’m definitely very happy with the app, and when I needed an issue fixed, I found that the support is pretty good too.  Some of the best parts of the app are the full keyboard support (all shortcuts make it to the editor), and the auto-login on app launch.  Now that the cmd-w issue is fixed, the only complaints I have left are all about code-server (like a poor extension selection); the app itself is perfect.  Even if there were a reasonably-priced subscription for this app, I’d be happy to pay it, it would definitely be worth it.

### 1/5 — не работает

*2023-08-20*

не работает вообще

### 1/5 — Waste of money for Gitpod.io

*2023-05-05*

It’s basically just a viewport. You get the same thing from just using Safari.

## Frequently asked questions about UCoW

### What is UCoW?

UCoW is a wrapper application that consolidates access to various online code editing services like Code-Server, Gitpod, and GitHub Codespaces. It aims to optimize these services for mobile use with enhanced controls.

### Does UCoW require a subscription?

UCoW itself is a paid application, costing $3.99. However, it requires a self-hosted code-server instance or an account with one of the supported online services to function.

### What devices does UCoW support?

UCoW is available for iPhone, iPad, and iPod devices. It is noted to offer the best possible performance on iPads.

### Is an external keyboard recommended for UCoW?

Yes, an external keyboard is highly recommended for using UCoW, especially for precise selection with the touch cursor, as VSCode's touch cursor support is currently limited.

### How often is UCoW updated?

The latest version of UCoW is 7.0.1, and it was last updated on September 7, 2023. This indicates a relatively active development cycle.

### What is the user sentiment for UCoW?

UCoW has an average rating of 3.8 stars from 12 ratings, suggesting a generally positive but mixed user reception. Specific user sentiment details are not provided.

### Does UCoW have ads?

No, UCoW does not contain advertisements. It is a paid application with no in-app purchases or ads.

### What are the key features of UCoW?

Key features include unified access to multiple online code instances, a custom keybar with a cursor control stick, full keyboard shortcut support, optimized iPad performance, and multi-instance window management.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 7.0.1 — 2023-09-07

• Added support for the upccoming iOS & iPadOS releases 
• Updated shortcut support on stage manager
• minor bugfixes

### 6.0.1 — 2022-12-17

• NEW! Added seamless support for app switching and remote sharing between 
UCoW and the new "VSCoW - Code Wrapper" to use with VS Code Server and Liveshare via vscode.dev
• NEW! Added a hint for VSCoW on creating a new Remote
• minor bugfixes

### 6.0 — 2022-11-19

Make UCoW compatible with 
UCoW VSCode.dev Editon 
(release soon)

### 5.2.1 — 2022-10-29

Fixed a bug with the keyboard on smaller devices

### 5.2 — 2022-10-29

maintenance update for the new iOS version, new iPad and iPhone devices.

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## More apps by Christoph Gogolin

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- [CleverSailing HD Lite - Sailboat Racing Game for iPad](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cleversailing-hd-lite-sailboat-racing-game-for-ipad/id593278611)
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- [GoCoEdit - Code & Text Editor](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/gocoedit-code-and-text-editor/id869346854)
- [Orbi.go - reach the center](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/orbigo-reach-the-center/id912140865)

All apps by Christoph Gogolin: https://appshunter.io/developer/511901280

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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 2026-08-27.*
