a vs Hellosix
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.
Hellosix
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HelloSix: SceneUp is a writing desk for one scene at a time. You write the pages. Next to them you pin what this scene looks like, who is in it, how it sounds, and how it moves. Research stays on this scene. It is not a movie browser and there is no Discover page. WRITE • Split a notebook into scenes with INT/EXT and Day/Night • Keep characters in a list you can pin a face to • Focus mode for the page in front of you • Export as text, Fountain, or PDF — the manuscript, selected scenes, or this scene’s research PIN TO THIS SCENE • Place — stills and walking videos, or a location photo you took • Face — search an actor, or pick from a film’s credits • Voice — interviews, or a line you record yourself • Rhythm — trailers, for pace YOUR PAGES STAY HERE No HelloSix: SceneUp account. No HelloSix: SceneUp server. Manuscripts live on this device, with iCloud when you are signed in. Search only runs when you tap Search. Video plays in the official YouTube player. HelloSix: SceneUp does not download finished films or capture frames from the player. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB. Video comes from YouTube.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: a at none against Hellosix's shown. a also leads on ratings volume (575 vs 3) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). Hellosix's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and update cadence (weekly vs monthly). On price, in-app purchases, chart position 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Hellosix holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: a has 575 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two.
a ships an update monthly, Hellosix weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | a | Hellosix |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (575 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 78.4% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 575 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Best chart rank | #26 — better | #28 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2.1 GB | 74 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Nicolas Holzschuch | 朝阳 徐 |
Customer experience
a
Hellosix
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
Hellosix
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
a
No in-app purchases
Hellosix
No in-app purchases









