a vs Code Editor
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
a
Run Unix commands locally on your iOS device with a powerful terminal emulator. Supports file transfer, editing, scripting with Python and Lua, and network utilities. Integrates with Shortcuts and supports multiple windows for multitasking.
- Local Unix terminal emulator
- SSH client
- File transfer (scp, curl)
- Text editing (vim, ed)
- Scripting (Python, Lua, JavaScript)
- Network utilities (nslookup, ping)
- Shortcuts integration
- Multi-window support
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a-Shell mini is a complete local terminal emulator, allowing to run most Unix commands on you iOS device. You can transfer files using scp and curl, edit them with vim and ed, process them using grep, awk and sed. Work with git repositories using lg2. Most commands are compiled for iOS native Arm64 format, making them fast and well integrated with iOS underlying BSD Unix. a-Shell mini includes Python, Lua, JavaScript and webAssembly for programming and scripting. It also includes native ffmpeg and convert for fast image and video conversion. 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 mini 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 mini uses iPadOS 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. a-Shell mini is a minimalist terminal, designed to have a very small footprint (less than 250 MB). If you need more commands, please consider a-Shell, which has more Python packages, more JavaScript modules, Perl, make, a C and C++ compiler and TeX.
Code Editor
This app is a powerful mobile code editor and compiler designed for programmers. It offers syntax highlighting for numerous languages, code assistance, and the ability to compile and run code directly on your device. Access files from cloud storage and version control systems, with customizable themes and extensive editing features.
- Syntax highlighting for 110+ languages
- Online compiler for 30+ languages
- Code assist and auto-completion
- Multi-tab navigation
- Unlimited undo/redo
- Cloud file access (FTP, WebDAV, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive)
- GitHub/GitLab integration
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Code editor is optimized text editor focused on coding. It contains necessary features including syntax highlight, code assist, auto-complete, compile and execute, etc. Features: - Syntax highlighting for over 110 languages (C++, Java, JavaScript, HTML, Markdown, PHP, Perl, Python, Lua, Dart, etc). - Include online compiler, can compile and run over 30 common languages (Python, PHP, Java, JS/NodeJS, C/C++, Rust, Pascal, Haskell, Ruby, etc). - Code assist, folding and auto-completion. - Easily navigate between multiple tabs. - Undo and redo changes without limit. - Search and replace with regular expressions. - Show or hide line numbers. - Highlight matching parentheses. - Automatic indent and outdent. - Displays invisible characters. - Open files from recently opened file collections. - Preview HTML and Markdown files. - Includes Emmet support for web development. - Access files from FTP and WebDAV. - Evaluate JavaScript code with built-in JavaScript console. - Integrate and easy access to GitHub and GitLab. - Access files from Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive. - Dark and light themes and over 30 syntax highlighting styles. If you run into any issues or have any suggestions, please feel free to contact us: support@rhmsoft.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: a at 4.6 against Code Editor's 3.2. a also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). On price, ratings volume, 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. Code Editor sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. a asks for nothing beyond the download.
a holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 120 and 43 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 78% of a's written reviews are positive against 54% of Code Editor's.
a ships an update every 2 weeks, Code Editor every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | a | Code Editor |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (120 ratings) — better | 3.2 (43 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 77.8% of reviews — better | 53.8% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 120 — better | 43 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 5 weeks |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | #62 — better | #78 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 373 MB | 65 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nicolas Holzschuch | Rhythm Software |
Customer experience
a
Code Editor
User reviews
a
From 120 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great app for shortcuts
- 🚀 Efficient and functional
- 💡 Useful for IT tasks
- ✨ Free and awesome
- 💻 Good for remote server connection
Room to improve
- 🐛 Font size not adjustable
- 🐛 Keyboard icons too large
- 🐛 App deletes itself
- 🐛 Rotating screen scrambles display
- 🐛 Pasting text shows strange characters
Code Editor
From 43 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great for coding on the go
- 👍 Supports many languages
- 👍 Easy to use interface
- 👍 Good for learning and quick edits
- 👍 Minimal ads (for some users)
Room to improve
- 😠 Unskippable, full-screen ads
- 😠 Ads after every file operation
- 😠 Ads interrupt workflow
- 😠 Frequent and intrusive ads
- 😠 Paid version still has ads
Bugs and requests
a
Reported bugs
12 issues- Keyboard icons comically large
- App deletes itself
- Rotating iPhone/iPad scrambles display
- Pasting text results in strange characters
- App only uses half of the screen when editing files
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- Command not found errors for all commands
- App crashes on launch after update
- Cannot get own absolute path
- Cannot execute own programs
- App messes up .txt file association
- Trouble selecting characters to copy and paste
- No module named requests in shortcuts
Requested features
8 requests- Option to use old keyboard buttons
- Add openssl support
- Add libx265 codec for ffmpeg
- Support telnet command
- Add possibility to compile from source
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Make Ubuntu default
- Add expansion of keys (e.g., echo {a..z})
- Adjustable font size
Code Editor
Reported bugs
46 issues- Uninterruptible ads
- Cannot create new files
- Cannot copy files
- Sidebar cannot be reopened after closing
- Cannot save files
Show 41 moreShow fewer
- Settings screen does not open
- No option to open a file
- App crashes frequently
- File shown as empty, needs reopening
- No magnifying preview when selecting text
- Cannot use as target for 'open with...'
- Cannot input user data
- Cannot execute more than one file
- Image not appearing in browser
- Links not functioning
- Typing cursor moves to the beginning of the file
- Content reloads via iCloud Drive, losing data
- HTML files not running in the included browser
- C++ user input (cin >>) not working
- Save button disabled
- Cannot print files
- Bug when project runs
- Cannot save Typst files
- Cannot save Webdav files
- Cannot name files
- C/C++ compilers don't allow argument changes
- Editing .js files prevents saving/closing without discarding changes
- App crashes on opening on iPad Pro
- Error loading file content due to unsupported encoding
- Chinese input causes misalignment
- Landscape mode bug on iPhone
- FTP folder display is blank
- Code not running properly for complex operations
- Extend Script not supported
- Toolbar content overlaps and becomes unresponsive after switching apps
- Python input not executing
- File content deleted after saving
- Error when loading file content
- Landscape mode not working on iPhone
- Cannot compile sum of user input numbers in C
- Auto-completion not working well
- App closes instantly when clicking live server link
- Cannot compile C++ code with user input
- Cannot save edits
- Cannot save files on mobile
- Broken number generator due to ASCII issues
Requested features
26 requests- SFTP protocol connection
- Add a run button
- Error indicator during typing
- Custom keyboard with coding symbols
- Ability to edit visual styles/syntax coloring
Show 21 moreShow fewer
- Add tab closing functionality
- Improve console window size
- Support for trackpad/mouse scrolling
- Add automatic save feature
- Support opening files from other apps via share sheet
- Add Bitbucket support
- Add SFTP/SSH support
- Add a terminal for installing external libraries
- Support for mouse wheel scrolling
- Allow multiple file execution at once
- Add code recording/deletion function
- Support system theme switching
- Add telemetry toggle button
- Improve Git integration (manage repos, branches, etc.)
- Add i/o redirection for console programs
- Support for specific libraries (e.g., pandas, Kivy)
- Make execution button available
- Support for mouse scroll on iPad
- Open source the app
- Add landscape mode support on iPhone
- Add ability to create files from scratch
In-app purchases
a
No in-app purchases
Code Editor
- Remove Ads (Forever)$3.99
