VI Reference vs Command Line Fu
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
VI Reference
A comprehensive guide for users of the Unix VI editor. It details essential functions like searching, editing, and cursor movement, including advanced commands.
- VI editor commands
- Searching functionality
- Editing operations
- Cursor movement
- Exotic commands
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This reference is for everyone who often has to use the Unix editor VI. It covers all aspects of using VI, like searching, editing, cursor movement, etc. Even some very exotic commands are covered.
Command Line Fu
Access a vast collection of command-line snippets shared by users. Browse, search, and expand your knowledge of powerful command-line tools and techniques. This app serves as a mobile gateway to a popular online resource for CLI enthusiasts.
- Browse command-line snippets
- Search command-line archive
- View most popular snippets
- View most recent snippets
- Access commandlinefu.com API
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Command Line Fu is a simple way to browse commandlinefu.com - the place where all Command Line Ninjas (tm) share their best command line snippets. Browse the most recent or the most popular snippets and expand your CLI wisdom! You can even search the archive, too! This app uses commandlinefu.com's API to present the data, but is otherwise unaffiliated with the site. It's simply my humble tribute to a site I dig more and more as I spend more time with it. I'd love feedback and comments on how to make the app even better.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Command Line Fu at 100% against VI Reference's 50%. Command Line Fu also leads on rating (5.0 vs 1.0). VI Reference's advantage is price (Free vs $1.99) and update cadence (every 53 months vs every 157 months). 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
VI Reference is free to download; Command Line Fu costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Command Line Fu holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: VI Reference has 6 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of VI Reference's written reviews are positive against 100% of Command Line Fu's.
VI Reference ships an update every 53 months, Command Line Fu every 157 months. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | VI Reference | Command Line Fu |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $1.99 |
| Rating | 1.0 (6 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 6 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 53 months — better | Every 157 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 10.0 — better | 13.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 14 MB | 13 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Matthias Schorer | Linus Bohman |
Customer experience
VI Reference
Command Line Fu
In-app purchases
VI Reference
No in-app purchases
Command Line Fu
No in-app purchases
