MuxLink vs RootDeck
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
MuxLink
This app provides a seamless remote development experience on mobile devices. Connect to your dev box, manage tmux sessions, and run coding agents that continue working even when your screen is off. It offers a customizable keyboard and efficient command history for enhanced productivity.
- Persistent tmux sessions
- Run coding agents anywhere
- Customizable accessory keyboard
- Command history and autocomplete
- SSH with key or password auth
- Mosh support for roaming
- SFTP file browsing
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Your terminal, everywhere you go. MuxLink is an SSH client built for one thing: making a real remote development session usable from a phone. Connect to your dev box, attach to tmux, and pick up exactly where you left off — including long-running coding agents that keep working while your screen is off. RUN AGENTS FROM ANYWHERE Start a coding agent on your server, lock your phone, and check back later. Your tmux session keeps running on the remote machine, so nothing is lost when the connection drops or the app goes to the background. A one-tap "Copy Terminal Buffer" button grabs the visible scrollback so you can paste context into a chat without fighting a text selection handle. Works with any terminal-based agent — Claude Code, Codex, Aider, or your own scripts. MuxLink is not affiliated with or endorsed by their makers. TMUX AS A NATIVE INTERFACE MuxLink detects when your session is running tmux and renders your windows as a native tab bar. Switch windows by tapping instead of typing a prefix chord. It works with grouped sessions, so your phone can follow its own window without dragging your desktop client along with it. A KEYBOARD THAT WORKS ON A TOUCHSCREEN The iOS keyboard has no Ctrl, Esc, Tab, or arrow keys. MuxLink adds them in an accessory bar you can customize, with presets for tmux, Vim, and agent-driven workflows. Type into a comfortable text field and send whole lines, or drop into raw keystroke mode when an app needs every character live. COMMANDS YOU ALREADY RAN Command history is kept per host, with inline ghost-text autocomplete as you type and up/down recall. Pin the commands you run constantly and tap them from a menu. Everything is scoped to the host you are on, so your laptop's history does not clutter your server's. BUILT FOR REAL SERVERS • SSH with password, Ed25519 key, or passwordless auth • Generate keys on device, optionally protected by Face ID • Known-hosts fingerprint verification with a clear warning if a host key changes • Mosh support for roaming between networks • SFTP file browsing • Per-host startup command — auto-attach tmux the moment you connect • Auto-reconnect when you return to the app • Multiple concurrent sessions • Paste an "ssh user@host -p port" command to connect instantly MADE TO LOOK RIGHT Thirty themes, five monospace fonts, and full-color terminal rendering so Starship prompts, syntax highlighting, and TUI apps look the way they do on your desktop. Native iPad support with a resizable window. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No accounts, no telemetry, no analytics SDKs, no ads. Keys and passwords live in the iOS Keychain on your device. The only network connections MuxLink makes are the ones you initiate to the servers you name. REQUIREMENTS MuxLink connects to servers you already have access to. It does not provide servers, hosting, or a VPN. To reach a machine that is not exposed to the public internet, use it alongside a mesh VPN such as Tailscale.
RootDeck
A secure and fast client for managing servers via SSH and SFTP. It offers a terminal, file manager, server dashboard, and an AI agent that runs on your own infrastructure. Connect directly to your servers without any third-party cloud services.
- SSH terminal with customizable themes
- SFTP file browser with editor
- Server dashboard for monitoring resources
- AI agent integration (Codex, Claude, Copilot)
- Password and SSH key authentication
- Local network server discovery
- Privacy-focused with no cloud reliance
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RootDeck is a fast, secure SSH and SFTP client for iPhone and iPad: a terminal, file manager, server dashboard and AI agent for the servers you already own. Connect to your servers directly — no RootDeck account and no cloud in between. Built for developers, sysadmins and DevOps who need their infrastructure on the go. AI AGENT ON YOUR SERVER • Chat with Codex, Claude Code, Grok or GitHub Copilot running on your own server, or with your own API agent for any OpenAI-compatible provider. • Install the agent and sign in without leaving the app. Choose the model and how hard it thinks. • Decide what the agent may do: read only, the working folder, Auto with a reviewer model, or full access — and approve requests as they come. • Add MCP connectors from the catalog, attach files and photos, and dictate — speech is recognized on the device. • Follow background tasks and your account's usage limits, and sign out to switch accounts. SERVER AND TERMINAL • SSH terminal with ten color themes, Day and Night mode, cursor styles and a key bar with function keys. • Inline command suggestions — RootDeck never runs them on its own. • Server dashboard: CPU, memory, disks, network, services and processes. • Live logs with pause, filtering and links. FILES • SFTP file browser: upload, download, copy, move, rename and delete. • Built-in text editor, file details and permissions. CONNECTIONS • Password and SSH key authentication, jump hosts. • Host key verification against man-in-the-middle attacks. • Find SSH servers on your local network. • Optional: keep your session alive when you switch apps, with a connection card on the Lock Screen. • Linux, macOS and Windows OpenSSH servers. PRIVACY Credentials stay in Apple Keychain. SSH traffic goes straight between your device and your servers; the AI agent talks to its provider from your server, and API keys stay there. RootDeck collects no analytics, and none of our servers sit in the path. Available in English, Russian and Simplified Chinese.
Screenshots
Verdict
MuxLink and RootDeck are too close to call on the numbers: across 7 compared parameters — price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
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.
| Parameter | MuxLink | RootDeck |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 — better | — |
| Update frequency | — | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jesse Ziegler | Evgenii Lav |
Customer experience
MuxLink
RootDeck
In-app purchases
MuxLink
No in-app purchases
RootDeck
No in-app purchases









