Shell Drop vs Probe
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Shell Drop
This app provides a native terminal experience for iOS and iPadOS, designed for running AI agents via SSH. It allows seamless integration with AI models by enabling image and file uploads directly into sessions, with customizable upload limits. Features include tmux awareness, secure SSH key authentication, and on-device voice input for commands.
- AI agent integration
- Image and file uploads
- Tmux session management
- SSH key authentication
- On-device voice input
- Customizable keyboard toolbar
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ShellDrop is a fast, native terminal for iPhone, iPad and Vision Pro, built for running AI agents: Claude Code, Codex, Grok, Hermes, OpenClaw, opencode, anything that lives in tmux on a Mac mini, VPS or any box you can SSH into. WORK WITH YOUR AGENTS - Paste images straight into a session. Copy a screenshot from any app, paste it in the terminal, and your agent reads it. - Attach files too. Tap the paperclip in the toolbar to pick a file from Files, or a photo or video from your library, and it uploads to the server for your agent to read. - You choose the upload size limit. Settings goes from 100 MB to 1 GB, and if a file is over, ShellDrop offers to raise it on the spot. - Tmux aware. Vertical swipe scrolls history, horizontal swipe switches sessions. - Tab names sync with the real tmux session names automatically. - Sessions stay alive in the background while you switch apps. - Agent to clipboard. Ask your agent to write an email, say "copy that to my clipboard", and it lands on your phone ready to paste into your mail app. - Droplet Visualizer: the feature nobody asked for. See all your sessions from the perspective of an Egyptian god. BUILT LIKE A REAL TERMINAL - SSH key authentication. Generate Ed25519 keys or hardware-backed Secure Enclave keys in-app, where the private key never leaves the chip. - Paste-import your existing OpenSSH keys. - The keyboard toolbar is yours. Tap and hold to rearrange the keys you use most, and create your own custom Tmux key bindings. - Sticky ctrl for all of your perverted tmux activities. - Text selection with a dedicated selection mode, long-press word select, and one-tap links. - Nerd Fonts. FiraCode and JetBrains Mono render the glyphs nvim and LazyVim need. - Full screen mode for extra real estate. - Full iPad support including 13" iPad Pro, plus hardware keyboards. - iCloud sync keeps saved connections on every device, and you can switch it off in Settings any time. Private keys stay on your device by design. NO SUBSCRIPTION Every feature included. VOICE DROP Tap the mic on the keyboard toolbar and talk. Your words drop into the prompt at the cursor. Transcription runs on-device with Apple speech, or through your own Groq API key for whisper-large-v3-turbo. Nothing sends until you hit return. Prefer a dictation keyboard like Wispr Flow? Works great here too. PRIVACY Credentials live in the iOS keychain on your device. There is no account, and no telemetry or analytics are collected. Terminal traffic goes to your servers over SSH and nowhere else. Built by an indie developer who runs AI agents every day.
Probe
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Probe is a simple SSH client for people who just want to get the job done. Open it, tap a host, get a shell. That's it. What's in the box • A host has more than one address — Probe lets you list a few (LAN, public, whatever) and picks a sensible one based on the network you're on. • Remembers what worked — once an endpoint connects on a given network, that's the one it tries first next time. • Warns when something's off — like trying to reach a private address with no VPN up. • Pins host fingerprints — if a server's identity changes, you decide whether to trust it. • Keys live in the iOS Keychain — they don't leave your device. • A keyboard row that actually has Ctrl, Esc, Tab, arrows, and pipes where your thumb can reach them. What's not in the box No accounts. No tracking. No ads. No syncing. No "pro" tier. Your hosts and keys stay on your phone. Requirements • iOS 17 or later • An Ed25519 SSH key — Probe imports an OpenSSH-format key, or generates one for you.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Probe at every 2 days against Shell Drop's every 9 days. On price, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Shell Drop ships an update every 9 days, Probe every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Shell Drop | Probe |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 3 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 16 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Daniel Bilsborough | Pedro Almeida |
In-app purchases
Shell Drop
No in-app purchases
Probe
No in-app purchases








