Comparison

a vs CopySage

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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.

About

CopySage

Read full description

CopySage - Clipboard Inspector Ever wondered why your paste operations don't work as expected? CopySage reveals exactly what's in your clipboard. Born from frustration with paste formatting issues, CopySage is a diagnostic tool that provides detailed insights into your device's pasteboard (clipboard) content. What started as a quick debugging solution is now a powerful analyzer that can save you hours of troubleshooting. THE STORY I was struggling to paste text with links into email clients and messaging apps with proper formatting. Despite countless attempts, nothing worked—yet other apps pasted similar content perfectly. After building a quick diagnostic tool to inspect what successful apps were putting in the pasteboard, I discovered I was missing a critical type. Ten minutes later, everything pasted beautifully. If this app saves someone else days of aggravation, it will have been worth it. WHAT IT ANALYZES Text - Content with encoding details Images - Dimensions and format information URLs - Web links and deep links Colors - RGB and HSB values Dates & Times - Temporal data Numbers - Numeric values Files - Document information Raw Data - Binary content with hex viewer PERFECT FOR Developers debugging pasteboard interactions Discovering what format apps use when copying content Troubleshooting failed paste operations Inspecting rich content before pasting Understanding how the clipboard works HOW IT WORKS Copy any content from any app on your device Open CopySage Tap the paste button (you'll be asked to allow clipboard access each time) Browse the detected pasteboard items Tap any item for detailed information and preview The app handles multiple format representations of the same content, as apps often place several versions in the pasteboard for compatibility. YOUR PRIVACY MATTERS CopySage only reads your pasteboard when you tap the paste button. It does not store, transmit, or track any clipboard content. All analysis happens locally on your device. Simple. Local. Essential for anyone working with clipboard data.

Screenshots

a4 screens
CopySage4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: a at monthly against CopySage's every 4 months. a also leads on chart position (#20 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 18.2). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

a ships an update monthly, CopySage every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
a versus CopySage: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteraCopySage
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (553 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews78.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings553 — better—
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
Best chart rank#20 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS14.0 — better18.2
Further details — not scored
Size1.9 GB4 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperNicolas HolzschuchBryan Marshall

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

CopySage

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

a

No in-app purchases

None

CopySage

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is a free?
a is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is CopySage free?
CopySage is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do a or CopySage have ads?
Neither a nor CopySage shows ads.
Which is updated more often, a or CopySage?
a ships an update monthly, and CopySage every 4 months. Most recently, a was updated on October 17, 2026 and CopySage on October 2, 2026.

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