Comparison

ShellTime.xyz vs CLI Files

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

Head to head
About

ShellTime.xyz

Features
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ShellTime brings your developer activity to iPhone and iPad: the commands you run, what your AI coding agents cost, and the time you spend in your editor. The free shelltime CLI and editor extensions record your shell history, your Claude Code and Codex usage, and your coding time in VS Code, Neovim and JetBrains. Sign in with your ShellTime account and your stats are already there. TODAY β€’ Today's commands, AI spend and coding time at a glance CODING AGENT β€’ Tokens, cost, efficiency and lines changed for Claude Code, Codex and more β€’ Today, 30 days, 90 days or all time, with monthly charts for all time β€’ Open any session to read back your prompts, the tool calls and the lines it changed β€’ Browse your projects and search your prompts COMMANDS β€’ Search and filter your shell history from every machine β€’ Exit status, shell, terminal and host for every command, and your most used commands CODING ACTIVITY β€’ Coding time by editor and by language RANKING AND TEAMS β€’ Daily rankings, Claude Code and Codex boards, and the global community board β€’ Teams share devices, sessions and rankings with collaborators REPORTS β€’ Weekly and monthly reports on your shell, AI and editor activity WIDGETS AND APPLE WATCH β€’ Home Screen widgets for activity, coding agents, coding activity and rate limits, plus a Custom widget built from the sections you pick β€’ Lock Screen widgets for rate limits and activity β€’ An Apple Watch app with your overview, coding agent sessions, commands and ranking AND MORE β€’ A push notification when your Claude usage limits reset (Pro) β€’ Approve web and CLI sign-ins from a notification, confirmed with Face ID β€’ Embeddable badges for your GitHub profile or README β€’ In English, Japanese, Korean and Simplified Chinese Recording your shell, AI coding and editor activity is free. ShellTime Pro ($14.99 USD/month or $149.99 USD/year) unlocks your full history and all-time stats, the unlimited Session and Prompt Inspector, monthly AI reports, usage-reset alerts and webhooks, data export, dotfiles and shell aliases, virtual invoices, and 800 AI credits a month. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

CLI Files

Features
Read full description

CLI Files puts remote file management and a full SSH terminal in one focused workspace. Connect to your servers over SSH/SFTP, browse folders, upload and download files, preview common file types, and jump straight into a terminal when you need to get work done. It is designed for developers, operators, and AI-agent workflows. FEATURES β€’ SSH and SFTP connections with password or private-key authentication β€’ Browse, search, sort, upload, download, rename, and delete remote files β€’ Save favorite folders and open each directly in the file browser or terminal β€’ One retained terminal tab per server; switch sessions without disconnecting β€’ Reorderable command-key bar and custom text shortcuts β€’ Record custom Ctrl, Alt, Shift, special keys, and multi-step key sequences using the phone keyboard β€’ Terminal font-size control, app language selection, and multiple interface themes β€’ Secure credential storage in the iOS Keychain β€’ Offline Demo Mode for exploring the terminal, files, and Markdown preview before connecting a server CLI Files is free to download and includes banner advertising. An optional one-time Remove Ads purchase removes advertising; previous Remove Ads purchases remain valid and can be restored. Paid users may voluntarily enable banners in Settings and turn them off at any time without losing their purchase. Server profiles are stored on your device. Passwords, private keys, and trusted host keys are protected by the iOS Keychain.

Screenshots

ShellTime.xyz4 screens
CLI Files4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: ShellTime.xyz at none against CLI Files's shown. CLI Files's advantage is iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.2). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. ShellTime.xyz sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month and CLI Files sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ShellTime.xyz ships an update weekly, CLI Files every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences Β· 4 level
ShellTime.xyz versus CLI Files: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShellTime.xyzCLI Files
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyWeekly β€” betterEvery 11 days
AdsNo β€” betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch β€” betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.217.0 β€” better
Further details β€” not scored
Size17 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer乐 贺OpenBigger

In-app purchases

3 purchases

ShellTime.xyz

Subscriptions2
  • ShellTime Pro Monthly$7.991 Month
  • ShellTime Pro Yearly$79.991 Year
One-time1
  • 500 AI Credits$5.99
1 purchases

CLI Files

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$0.99

Questions

Is ShellTime.xyz free?
ShellTime.xyz is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is CLI Files free?
CLI Files is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do ShellTime.xyz or CLI Files have ads?
CLI Files shows ads; ShellTime.xyz does not.
Which is updated more often, ShellTime.xyz or CLI Files?
ShellTime.xyz ships an update weekly, and CLI Files every 11 days. Most recently, ShellTime.xyz was updated on November 5, 2026 and CLI Files on November 6, 2026.

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