Comparison

a vs ShotLinq

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
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

ShotLinq

Features
Read full description

Still burying screenshots in your camera roll? ShotLinq automatically saves your latest screenshot to the cloud with just a double tap on the back of your iPhone — or a press of the Action Button. ■ How it works 1. Install the iOS Shortcut (one-tap setup in-app) 2. Assign it to Back Tap or Action Button 3. Take a screenshot, tap once — saved to cloud! ■ Key Features • Instant upload via Back Tap or Action Button • View your cloud screenshots anytime, anywhere • Pinch-to-zoom image viewer & share sheet • Upload photos directly from your library • Save clipboard text to cloud (Plus) ■ Plans • Free: 100MB storage, auto-compressed • Plus: 1GB storage, original quality PNG, text storage No complicated setup. Just tap and go.

Screenshots

a4 screens
ShotLinq4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: a at none against ShotLinq's 1. a also leads on chart position (#24 vs unranked) and device support (3 vs 1). ShotLinq's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 78%) and update cadence (every 11 days vs monthly). On price, ads and iOS requirement 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. ShotLinq sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. a asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

a ships an update monthly, ShotLinq every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
a versus ShotLinq: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteraShotLinq
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (568 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews78.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings568 — better—
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 11 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
Best chart rank#24 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size2.1 GB42 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperNicolas HolzschuchKukChul Park

Customer experience

a

All ratings568 ratings
Positive88.4%
Neutral4.6%
Negative7.0%
Written reviews392 reviews
Positive78.3%
Neutral9.4%
Negative12.2%

ShotLinq

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

ShotLinq

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

a

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

ShotLinq

One-time1
  • ShotLinq Plus$3.99

Questions

Is a free?
a is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ShotLinq free?
ShotLinq is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do a or ShotLinq have ads?
Neither a nor ShotLinq shows ads.
Which is updated more often, a or ShotLinq?
a ships an update monthly, and ShotLinq every 11 days. Most recently, a was updated on November 3, 2026 and ShotLinq on November 5, 2026.

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