a vs Datark

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.

Datark brings database browsing, SQL editing and SSH sessions to iPhone and iPad. Work with your own databases and servers from a native app. Connect to PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB and SQLite, and browse MongoDB and Redis data. Available queries and editing tools vary by engine. MongoDB uses supported database commands rather than a JavaScript shell. Redis streaming and blocking commands are not supported. DuckDB is available in the Mac app only. - Save database and SSH profiles, with optional read-only mode. - Browse tables, columns, indexes and relationships, and view ER diagrams. - Sort, filter and page through rows; edit SQL data, set values to NULL and add rows. - Write SQL with history, saved queries, transactions and EXPLAIN. - Export CSV, JSON, SQL, Markdown, HTML and XML; import CSV and TSV into SQL databases. - Open SSH shells and tunnel database connections through SSH, with host-key checks. - Ask optional AI assistance about queries and schemas. Use a downloaded on-device model on compatible hardware, your own server, or a supported cloud AI service where available. AI features are unavailable in the China mainland App Store. Datark is free, with no Datark account, subscriptions or in-app purchases. The included SQLite sample works without an external account. Database, SSH and AI services are configured by you; external providers may require their own account and charges. Credentials are stored in the Apple Keychain. Cloud AI requires your permission before sharing, and generated queries do not run automatically. Datark has no tracking or analytics. Available in English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Simplified Chinese and Russian.