Comparison

rootshell vs clux

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

Head to head
About

rootshell

This app provides a powerful, desktop-class terminal emulator with GPU acceleration and native support for SSH, Mosh, and tssh. It offers features like system-wide VPN over SSH, native Git integration, and AI assistance for hands-free command execution and web searches.

Highlights
  • GPU-accelerated terminal
  • Native SSH and Mosh support
  • System-wide VPN over SSH
  • Native Git client
  • AI voice and text agents
  • Cloud and Kubernetes integration
  • Hardware security key support
Read full description

rootshell is a desktop-class terminal emulator built on libghostty — the GPU-accelerated engine behind the Ghostty desktop terminal. A local shell on every platform, Mac screen sharing, native SSH, mosh-compatible roaming, tssh, system-wide VPN, native git, and Metal rendering in a single app. NEW: SCREEN SHARING Reach your Mac's screen, not just its shell, from your iPhone or iPad. High Performance mode streams up to 4K at 60 FPS, fully encrypted. Match Client sizing spins up a virtual display sized exactly to your device: no panning, no letterboxing, with remote system audio. Standard VNC mode covers Linux and headless machines, and tunnels over SSH jump hosts. Nothing to install on the Mac — turn on Screen Sharing and connect. Touch, trackpad, hardware keyboard, and two-way clipboard all work, in tabs, splits, or full screen. METAL-ACCELERATED TERMINAL Built on libghostty's Zig core with direct Metal rendering. Smooth scrolling, zero-flicker synchronized output, and full mouse capture for tmux, vim, and zellij. Tabs, split panes, and persistent scrollback across app restarts. THREE REMOTE PROTOCOLS, ONE APP • SSH — Native Swift SSH client with Ed25519, ECDSA, RSA, and post-quantum ML-KEM + ML-DSA. Jump hosts, port and agent forwarding, and Keychain password storage. • Rootshell Roam — Mosh-compatible sessions survive network changes and app restarts. Multipath TCP bonds WiFi and cellular. Predictive local echo keeps typing responsive. STUN-based NAT traversal punches through firewalls. • tssh with QUIC (TLS 1.3) and KCP transport for lower latency, full native scrollback, and session resumption. NATIVE TMUX INTEGRATION Attach in control mode (tmux -CC) and tmux windows become native tabs, panes become real splits — copy, search, and scroll with native gestures. A dashboard shows live window previews, and tabs survive restarts over tssh. SSH VPN Turn any SSH or tssh session into a system-wide VPN. Route all device traffic through your remote server. No extra software on the server — if you can SSH to it, you can VPN through it. NATIVE GIT Clone, commit, diff, log, blame, rebase, cherry-pick, and worktree — in native Swift with SSH transport. Syntax-highlighted pager output and optional AI-generated commit messages. VOICE AI AGENT Talk to an always-on assistant over Gemini Live. It reads scrollback, runs SSH commands hands-free, searches the web, and asks permission before anything risky. OPTIONAL TEXT AI Chat with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or 400+ models via OpenRouter. Bring your own API key. HARDWARE SECURITY KEYS Private keys never leave hardware. FIDO2/WebAuthn authentication with touch-to-sign. SANDBOXED LOCAL SHELL A full local shell with vim 9.1, Helix, SFTP, SCP, curl, jq, mtr, and standard Unix utilities. The rf browser offers yazi-style miller columns with image previews and git indicators. croc peer-to-peer file transfer, flag-aware tab completion, and prompt themes. CLOUD & KUBERNETES Connect to AWS, Azure, DigitalOcean, Akamai (Linode), and Tailscale. Browse instances, access serial consoles, generate EKS kubeconfigs, and debug Kubernetes nodes with ephemeral pods. 450+ THEMES & VISUAL EFFECTS Over 450 color themes with location-based day/night switching. Animated backgrounds — solar, ocean waves, starfields, fireflies — plus Shadertoy-compatible shaders and custom fonts. CUSTOMIZABLE TOOLBAR Drag, reorder, and hide 45+ built-in keys. Create custom keys that send text, key combos, or sequences. Sticky modifiers with tap and double-tap lock. Separate iPhone and iPad layouts. CONNECTION MANAGEMENT Save profiles with folders, tags, and iCloud sync. Quick Connect autocompletes from history and cloud instances. Background SSH tunnels with auto-start. Siri Shortcuts integration. KEYBOARD POWER FEATURES QMK-style mod-tap keys, dictation and CJK input, customizable shortcuts, and Option key as Alt for international layouts.

About

clux

Control AI coding tools on your PC from your mobile device using SSH. Send voice commands, manage multiple tasks with tmux, and view output in a full-color terminal. Develop software from anywhere, even while relaxing.

Highlights
  • Remote AI coding control
  • Voice-powered commands
  • tmux session management
  • ANSI color terminal
  • Automatic Git worktree
  • Customizable quick actions
Features
Read full description

Tell AI to write code — from your bed. clux is a remote SSH terminal app for controlling AI coding tools (like Claude Code) on your PC from your iPhone or iPad. Connect to Mac, Windows, or Linux via SSH and operate in real time through tmux sessions. VIBE CODING, FROM ANYWHERE In the age of AI coding, you don't need to sit at your desk to build software. With clux, you can give AI instructions from your bed, your couch, or on the train — just by speaking. Send commands directly to Claude Code or any terminal-based AI coding tool running on your PC, see results in real time, and give the next instruction. Development never stops, even when you're away from your computer. KEY FEATURES Remote AI Coding Control Claude Code, GitHub Copilot CLI, Cursor, and other terminal-based AI coding tools from your iPhone or iPad. Send instructions, review output, and follow up — all from your mobile device. Voice-Powered Commands Give AI instructions using your voice instead of a keyboard. "Create a PR", "Run the tests" — just speak and the command is sent. Perfect for vibe coding while lying in bed. tmux Session Management Run multiple AI tasks in parallel. Organize sessions by work type — Research, Development, Review — and switch between them with a single tap. Let AI handle multiple jobs at once. ANSI Color Terminal Full 16-color ANSI support. See Claude Code's colorful output exactly as it appears on your desktop, providing a terminal experience comparable to your PC. Automatic Git Worktree Automatically create a Git worktree for each task. AI can develop multiple features in parallel, each in its own isolated branch. Customizable Quick Actions Send common AI instructions like "Implement this", "Create a PR", or "Review this" with one tap. Fully customizable per work type. PERFECT FOR - Letting AI write code while you relax in bed - Checking AI-generated PRs during your commute - Monitoring AI build progress from the couch - Managing multiple AI tasks while you're out SETUP (3 STEPS) 1. Enable SSH on your PC (Mac: Remote Login, Windows: OpenSSH Server) 2. Enter your PC's address and login credentials in clux 3. Test the connection and you're done An in-app setup guide walks you through every step. PRIVACY AND SECURITY - SSH credentials are encrypted and stored on-device - No communication with external servers - All operations stay within your local network With clux, AI coding is always at your fingertips.

Screenshots

rootshell4 screens
clux3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: rootshell at 95% against clux's 0%. rootshell also leads on rating (4.8 vs 3.0) and ratings volume (45 vs 1). clux's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

rootshell holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: rootshell has 45 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 95% of rootshell's written reviews are positive against 0% of clux's.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
rootshell versus clux: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameterrootshellclux
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (45 ratings) — better3.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews94.7% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings45 — better1
Update frequencyFortnightly—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank#158 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size364 MB32 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRootshell LLCYuki Kuwahara

Customer experience

rootshell

All ratings45 ratings
Positive95.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative4.4%
Written reviews19 reviews
Positive94.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative5.3%

clux

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral100.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral100.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

rootshell

No in-app purchases

None

clux

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is rootshell free?
rootshell is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is clux free?
clux is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, rootshell or clux?
rootshell is rated higher. rootshell averages 4.8 out of 5 from 45 ratings, while clux averages 3.0 from 1 ratings.
Do rootshell or clux have ads?
Neither rootshell nor clux shows ads.

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