iSH Shell vs a
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
iSH Shell
Experience a Linux-like command-line environment directly on your iOS device. This application allows you to perform common Linux operations such as editing, moving, and manipulating files using familiar commands.
- Linux-like shell environment
- File editing with sed and cat
- File manipulation
- Command-line operations
- Pocket Linux experience
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A Linux-like shell on iOS. You can edit files with sed and cat, move them around, and more! https://github.com/ish-app/ish/
a
Run a full Unix-like terminal environment on your iOS device. Execute a wide range of commands, edit files, and even program using included interpreters and compilers. Supports multitasking and integration with Shortcuts.
- Local Unix terminal emulator
- SSH client
- File transfer (scp, curl)
- Text editing (vim, ed)
- Scripting languages (Python, Lua, Perl, JS)
- C/C++ compiler
- TeX distribution
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a-Shell is a complete local terminal emulator, allowing to run most Unix commands on your iOS device. You can transfer files using scp and curl, edit them with vim and ed, process them using grep, awk and sed. You can work with git repositories using lg2. Most commands are compiled for iOS native Arm64 format, making them fast and well integrated with the BSD Unix that powers iOS/iPadOS. a-Shell includes Python, Lua, Perl, JavaScript, C, C++ for programming and TeX (texlive 2025, with Tikz and LuaTeX) for text processing. There are also multiple network utilities: nslookup, ping, whois, ifconfig... Type help for help, help -l to get the full list of commands. a-Shell can be controlled from Shortcuts: run commands in order, process files in a-Shell, get the results as text or files, transfer files to other apps... a-shell uses iOS 13+ “multiple windows” ability, so you can run multiple shells at the same time, with different commands, in different directories. You can edit a file in one window with vim and process it in the other with python. Compile your C or C++ programs to webAssembly using clang or clang++, and execute the resulting binary. A complete webAssembly SDK is included (WASI-libc). a-Shell is the complete version. If you need a smaller app, and you don't need a C compiler, a TeX engine, or numpy and matplotlib, there is a-Shell mini.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: iSH Shell at free against a's paid. iSH Shell also leads on iOS requirement (11.0 vs 14.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for iSH Shell against 4.6 for a. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.2K and 553 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 80% of iSH Shell's written reviews are positive against 79% of a's.
iSH Shell ships an update every 3 weeks, a monthly. Both last shipped on September 23, 2026.
| Parameter | iSH Shell | a |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (1.2K ratings) — better | 4.6 (553 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 80.2% of reviews — better | 78.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1.2K — better | 553 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #17 — better | #19 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 14.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 1.9 GB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Theodore Dubois | Nicolas Holzschuch |
Customer experience
iSH Shell
a
User reviews
iSH Shell
From 1.2K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Excellent Linux environment
- 👍 Great for SSH and network utilities
- 💡 Allows running Linux apps on iOS
- 🔒 Secure and sandboxed
- 👍 Customizable and flexible
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes and freezes
- 🔋 Battery intensive
- ⚠️ Limited functionality compared to full Linux
- ⚠️ Outdated packages and dependencies
a
From 553 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Powerful terminal with Linux commands
- 👍 Useful for programming and development
- 🔒 Secure and reliable
- 💡 Impressive capabilities for an iOS app
- 👍 Helpful documentation and developer support
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
- 🔍 Limited customization options
- 🔍 Missing some basic terminal features
- 🔍 Compatibility issues with certain packages
Bugs and requests
iSH Shell
Reported bugs
3 issues- Cursor focus issues
- Incompatibility with certain commands and packages
- Mounting issues with iOS file system
Requested features
4 requests- Add support for more Linux distributions
- Improve performance and stability
- Implement GUI support
- Add shortcuts and automation features
a
Reported bugs
3 issues- Toolbar buttons not accessible in portrait mode on some devices
- Pasting from clipboard can insert unexpected characters
- Sourcing certain script files causes crashes
Requested features
5 requests- Add support for package managers like Homebrew or APT
- Implement more advanced shell features like job control and better tab completion
- Integrate Git for version control
- Allow installing additional packages and libraries
- Improve clipboard and file management integration
In-app purchases
iSH Shell
No in-app purchases
a
No in-app purchases
