a vs Tasks.md
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, transfer files, and edit them. It supports programming languages like Python and JavaScript, along with network utilities and image/video conversion tools.
- Local Unix terminal emulator
- File transfer (scp, curl)
- Text editing (vim, ed)
- Programming languages (Python, Lua, JavaScript)
- Network utilities (nslookup, ping)
- Image and video conversion (ffmpeg)
- Shortcuts integration
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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.
Tasks.md
Manage your to-do list using plain text markdown files. This app offers smart task management, organization by categories and tags, and recurring task support. It emphasizes data ownership and privacy, with no subscriptions or ads.
- Markdown file integration
- Smart task management
- Customizable categories and tags
- Recurring tasks
- iCloud sync
- Native iOS and macOS apps
- Privacy-focused, no tracking
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Your tasks. Your file. Tasks.md is a native task manager for Mac, iPhone, and iPad that works directly with a markdown file you own. Check off, add, and rename tasks in the app, or edit the same file in your favorite text editor. KEEP YOUR DAY CLEAR • Compact task lists organized by markdown categories • Search task titles and categories • Open, Today, All, and Done filters • Due-date labels, overdue indicators, and priority flags • Sort within categories by file order, due date, or priority • Collapse categories to focus on what matters CAPTURE AND COMPLETE • Add tasks with a category picker • Create categories as you go • Rename tasks inline and check them off with a tap • Set daily, weekly, or monthly repeats • Mac shortcuts: Command-N to add, Command-F to search, Command-O to open PLAIN TEXT, ALWAYS Tasks and metadata stay in a portable .md file. Open it in any text editor, keep your own backups, or track changes with Git. Store the file in iCloud Drive or another file provider and choose it on each device to use the provider's sync. The app watches for external edits and reports file-access problems clearly. Recurring tasks are generated when the app loads the file or becomes active. Due dates and priorities use markdown tags; reminder notifications are not included. No account, ads, analytics, or subscription. A one-time purchase for a straightforward native interface over your own markdown.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: a at 78% against Tasks.md's 0%. a also leads on price (Free vs $2.99) and update cadence (monthly vs every 12 months). Tasks.md's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.6). On ads, in-app purchases 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
a is free to download; Tasks.md costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Tasks.md holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: a has 123 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 78% of a's written reviews are positive against 0% of Tasks.md's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
a ships an update monthly, Tasks.md every 12 months. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | a | Tasks.md |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $2.99 |
| Rating | 4.6 (123 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 78.0% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 123 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 12 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #31 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 18.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 383 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nicolas Holzschuch | Mason Earl |
Customer experience
a
Tasks.md
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
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- 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
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- Make Ubuntu default
- Add expansion of keys (e.g., echo {a..z})
- Adjustable font size
Tasks.md
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
a
No in-app purchases
Tasks.md
No in-app purchases









