a vs GitHub
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
a
This app provides a local Unix terminal emulator for iOS devices, enabling users to run various Unix commands, edit files, and process data. It includes support for multiple programming languages and network utilities, with integration for iOS Shortcuts and multi-window functionality.
- Local Unix terminal emulator
- Run Unix commands
- File transfer (scp, curl)
- Text editing (vim, ed)
- Programming languages (Python, Lua, C)
- Network utilities (ping, nslookup)
- iOS Shortcuts integration
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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.
GitHub
Manage your code projects, review pull requests, and stay updated on team discussions from anywhere. This app provides a native mobile experience for essential development tasks, allowing you to triage issues and merge code on the go.
- Browse notifications
- Read, react, and reply to Issues and Pull Requests
- Review and merge Pull Requests
- Organize Issues with labels and projects
- Browse files and code
- Discover trending repositories
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There’s a lot you can do on GitHub that doesn’t require a complex development environment – like sharing feedback on a design discussion, or reviewing a few lines of code. GitHub for iOS lets you move work forward wherever you are. Stay in touch with your team, triage issues, and even merge, right from the app. We’re making these tasks easy for you to perform, no matter where you work, with a beautifully native experience. You can use GitHub for iOS to: • Browse your latest notifications • Read, react, and reply to Issues and Pull Requests • Review and merge Pull Requests • Organize Issues with labels, assignees, projects, and more • Browse your files and code • Discover new and trending repositories ——— Terms of Service: https://docs.github.com/en/github/site-policy/github-terms-of-service Privacy Policy: https://docs.github.com/en/github/site-policy/github-privacy-statement
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: a at none against GitHub's 4. a also leads on review sentiment (78% vs 65%) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). GitHub's advantage is ratings volume (40K vs 570) and update cadence (weekly vs monthly). On price, ads and device support 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. GitHub sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. a asks for nothing beyond the download.
GitHub holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: GitHub has 40K ratings behind it against 570, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 78% of a's written reviews are positive against 65% of GitHub's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
a ships an update monthly, GitHub weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | a | GitHub |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (570 ratings) | 4.8 (40K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 78.4% of reviews — better | 65.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 570 | 40K — better |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #21 | #2 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2.1 GB | 179 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nicolas Holzschuch | GitHub |
Customer experience
a
GitHub
User reviews
a
From 570 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
GitHub
From 40K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Great app design
- 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
- 🚀 Fast and responsive
- 👍 Helpful for on-the-go tasks
- 🚀 Efficient for reviewing PRs and issues
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
- 🔍 Limited functionality compared to website
- 🔍 Difficult to navigate and find features
- 🔍 Lacks key features like code editing and wiki support
- 🔍 Intercepts GitHub links, forcing use of app
Bugs and requests
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
GitHub
Reported bugs
5 issues- Login issues and inability to switch accounts
- Inconsistent behavior when navigating between app and website
- Notifications not always loading correctly
- Inability to view all files in large pull requests
- Crashes when trying to perform certain actions
Requested features
5 requests- Add support for multiple accounts
- Improve search and filtering capabilities
- Implement code editing and file management
- Integrate GitHub Actions and Insights
- Allow viewing and managing GitHub projects
In-app purchases
a
No in-app purchases
GitHub
- GitHub Pro$3.991 Month
- Copilot Pro$10.001 Month
- Copilot Pro+$39.991 Month
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- Copilot Max$99.001 Month
