a vs ClearJSON
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.
ClearJSON
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ClearJSON is a local-first JSON viewer, formatter, validator, and inspector for iPhone and iPad. Paste JSON, open files from Files or iCloud, validate payloads, format readable output, minify compact JSON, sort keys, search paths and values, copy formatted output, and export cleaned JSON. ClearJSON is built for checking API responses, reviewing configuration files, cleaning JSON snippets, debugging payloads, and inspecting nested data. Your JSON content stays private: payloads, searches, filenames, and clipboard contents are processed on device and are not sent to the advertising service. Users who have not made a support purchase may see contextual Google ads. Ad personalization is disabled. Any of the three existing support purchases removes all ads permanently, including verified purchases made in earlier versions.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: a at none against ClearJSON's 3. a also leads on ads (none vs shown) and chart position (#26 vs unranked). ClearJSON's advantage is update cadence (every 10 days vs monthly). On price 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. ClearJSON sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. a asks for nothing beyond the download.
a ships an update monthly, ClearJSON every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | a | ClearJSON |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (575 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 78.4% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 575 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Best chart rank | #26 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2.1 GB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nicolas Holzschuch | Grove OU |
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
ClearJSON
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
a
No in-app purchases
ClearJSON
- ClearJSON Small Support$0.99
- ClearJSON Medium Support$2.99
- ClearJSON Large Support$4.99









