ShelveApp vs a+Terminal
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ShelveApp
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Shelve is a powerful SSH client for iOS with a built-in AI coding agent. Connect to your servers, run terminals, and let Claude or Codex work on your codebase — all from your iPhone. AI AGENT OVER SSH Run Claude or Codex directly on your remote servers. Multi-session conversations organized by working directory, with git-aware context, image attachments, safety approvals, and model selection. FULL TERMINAL Native terminal emulator with color support, keyboard shortcuts, and smooth scrolling. Manage tmux sessions and keep your work running. HOST WORKSPACE A complete toolkit for every server: • Terminal — Interactive shell access • Tmux — Session management • Browser — Discover and access web services by port • Files — Browse and manage remote files • Services — Monitor Docker, PM2, and system processes • System — View server metrics and resource usage • Logs — Tail and search remote log files SECURITY FIRST • SSH keys generated in the Secure Enclave • Biometric authentication (Face ID / Touch ID) • Full audit log of all key signing operations • Safety approval system for AI agent commands Built for developers who manage servers on the go
a+Terminal
This app provides a privacy-focused SSH terminal for remote machine access on your iPhone. It integrates with tmux and CLI AI coding agents, offering features like push-to-talk dictation and live session monitoring.
- Privacy-first SSH terminal
- tmux and CLI AI agent integration
- Push-to-talk dictation
- Live Activities for session monitoring
- Dev server port preview
- Mac screen sharing (VNC)
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a+Terminal is a privacy-first SSH terminal for working on your own machines from your iPhone — built around tmux and CLI AI coding agents. It's agent-agnostic: run any CLI coding agent, with plug-and-play profiles you can extend yourself. SCROLLING THAT ACTUALLY WORKS Swipes become real mouse-wheel events, so tmux and your agent's output scroll natively, with momentum — no more fighting copy-mode. SPEAK YOUR PROMPTS Push-to-talk dictation inserts straight into the terminal. Recognition runs entirely on your iPhone; audio never leaves the device. NEVER LOSE YOUR SESSION Live Activities and the Dynamic Island show your active sessions at a glance. Tap to jump back in — a+Terminal reconnects and re-attaches your session multiplexer (tmux, zellij, and more) automatically. PREVIEW YOUR DEV SERVER Start a dev server on the machine you're connected to and a+Terminal spots the port — from the URL your framework prints, or from the machine's own listener table. Tap it and the page opens over the SSH connection you already have. It renders in a viewer built for exactly one thing: the single port you forwarded. Every other address is refused, nothing it loads is kept, and it is not a web browser. Reload with a tap, and switch between the mobile and desktop layout to check both. MONITOR YOUR MAC Add a Monitor (VNC) session to watch your own computer's screen sharing right from your phone. Sign in with your macOS account and you land straight on the desktop; pinch to zoom and pan. Pop the screen out into a floating Picture-in-Picture window to keep an eye on it while you use other apps. Turn on Control to tap, drag, and type — enough to unlock a locked Mac and take over. It stays view-only until you do, and it connects only to the machine you enter. (Beta.) ZERO DATA COLLECTION No analytics, no accounts, no crash SDKs, no servers of ours. The App Privacy label says "Data Not Collected" because there is nothing to collect it with. The only network traffic is your own connections to machines you configure. SUPPORT THE APP An optional tip jar lets you support a+Terminal's development. Tips are one-time and unlock nothing — every feature is always available. • ed25519 keys generated on-device, stored in the Keychain (never exportable, never in backups) • Password authentication option, stored in the Keychain only • Trust-on-first-use host key pinning with hard mismatch failures • Sticky Ctrl and C-b (tmux prefix) keys, Esc/Tab/arrows accessory bar • Attach an image or file from your phone over the existing SSH connection • Plug-and-play agent & multiplexer profiles — any CLI agent, tmux, zellij, screen — or define your own, no update required • Multiple simultaneous sessions with server groups • Preview a dev server running on the far end, over the SSH connection you already have — port detection and a single-port viewer • Monitor (VNC): view-only screen sharing for your own Mac, with a floating Picture-in-Picture window and optional touch & keyboard control (beta) • Light, dark, and follow-system themes Privacy Policy: https://aaroncx.github.io/a-plus-terminal/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is iOS requirement: ShelveApp at 17.0 against a+Terminal's 26.0. On price, update cadence, 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
Both are free to download. ShelveApp sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and a+Terminal sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
ShelveApp ships an update weekly, a+Terminal every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ShelveApp | a+Terminal |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 8 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 29 MB | 12 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Refael Yerusalmi | Aaron Character |
In-app purchases
ShelveApp
- Unlock 2+ Servers$2.99
a+Terminal
- Small Tip$1.99
- Medium Tip$4.99
- Large Tip$9.99









