Comparison

a vs Test Passkeys

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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.

About

Test Passkeys

Read full description

Test Passkeys is a hands-on sandbox for learning how passkeys and WebAuthn really work: on a real device, against a real server, with nothing hidden behind a diagram. Most explainers stop at the arrows. This app lets you run the ceremonies yourself, change the parameters, and read every field that crosses the wire. PLAYGROUND Create passkeys and authenticate with them, then inspect the whole exchange: * Configure user verification, attestation, authenticator attachment, resident keys, algorithms and hints - then see what the device does with each * Change the relying party ID and watch iOS accept or reject it, and find out why * Switch between standard and conditional request styles * Read the raw challenge, clientDataJSON, authenticator data and signature for every ceremony * Rename, inspect and delete the passkeys you create LEARN Guided lessons on what passkeys are, how the ceremony fits together, why they are phishing resistant and breach proof, and how platform support is evolving - plus curated links into the WebAuthn, FIDO Alliance and Apple references when you want to go deeper. YOUR ACCOUNT Sign in with a passkey or a password, manage the passkeys registered to your account, and lock the app itself behind Face ID, Touch ID or a PIN. Playground passkeys are purely a learning tool - they are never used to authenticate you anywhere, and the passkeys protecting your own account are kept entirely separate. Experiment as freely as you like. Built for developers integrating WebAuthn, and for anyone who wants to see what is actually happening when they tap "Sign in with a passkey". Free. No ads, no tracking.

Screenshots

a4 screens
Test Passkeys4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: a at every 2 weeks against Test Passkeys's every 2 months. a also leads on chart position (#55 vs unranked) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, ads and in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

a ships an update every 2 weeks, Test Passkeys every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
a versus Test Passkeys: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteraTest Passkeys
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (120 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews77.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings120 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
Best chart rank#55 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS14.0 — better17
Further details — not scored
Size373 MB3 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperNicolas HolzschuchNicolaas Celliers

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 more
  • 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 more
  • Make Ubuntu default
  • Add expansion of keys (e.g., echo {a..z})
  • Adjustable font size

Test Passkeys

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

a

No in-app purchases

None

Test Passkeys

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is a free?
a is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Test Passkeys free?
Test Passkeys is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do a or Test Passkeys have ads?
Neither a nor Test Passkeys shows ads.
Which is updated more often, a or Test Passkeys?
a ships an update every 2 weeks, and Test Passkeys every 2 months. Most recently, a was updated on October 9, 2026 and Test Passkeys on October 5, 2026.

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