Comparison

Shepherd vs Sandbox Relay

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

Head to head
About

Shepherd

This app provides a fast and secure SSH client for accessing servers directly from your mobile device. It offers features like saved connections, custom command shortcuts, and extensive theming options for a personalized experience.

Highlights
  • Fast SSH client
  • Save server connections
  • Custom command shortcuts
  • Extensive terminal themes
  • Face ID protected keys
  • Multiple simultaneous sessions
Features
Read full description

Mochi is the place to control your AI coding agents from your iPhone. The agents run in herdr on your server. Mochi shows what each one is doing and takes you to it when it needs you. CONTROL YOUR AGENTS WITH HERDR • Live Activity on the lock screen: which agents are working and which are waiting for you • A notification when an agent is blocked or done, even when Mochi is closed • Tap it to open that agent's pane and answer from the chat input • Swipe to switch herdr tabs A REAL TERMINAL UNDERNEATH Mochi is a fast, beautiful SSH client built on the Ghostty terminal engine — a real terminal emulator in your pocket, not a toy. SSH INTO ANY SERVER Save your connections and jump into any of them in a tap. Password and key auth, custom ports, works great over Tailscale. FIRE COMMANDS IN ONE TAP Build your own shortcut groups: tmux prefixes, Ctrl combos, slash commands, whole snippets with Enter. The keyboard toolbar puts esc, tab, ctrl and ⌘ right above the keys — no more fighting the mobile keyboard. MAKE IT YOURS 500+ built-in terminal themes with search and light/dark filters. Real monospace fonts (JetBrains Mono and more), adjustable size, pinch to zoom in session. LOCK KEYS BEHIND FACE ID Private keys live in the iOS Keychain. Flip one switch and every use of a key requires Face ID. BUILT FOR ENGINEERS • Ghostty-powered terminal emulation — fast, correct, modern • Multiple simultaneous sessions • Native iOS design that feels at home on iOS 26 • No accounts, no tracking — your servers are your business

About

Sandbox Relay

Features
Read full description

For developers who run Claude Code or Codex in Docker Sandbox, Sandbox Relay is the phone client for driving that agent. It is a companion, not a standalone app: it needs a broker you run, with an agent connected behind it. Kick off a task from the train, check on a long-running job from the couch, or steer the agent while you are away from your desk. Docker Sandbox runs each agent in its own isolated micro VM. A small broker you self-host sits in the middle: you send work from your phone, the broker passes it to the agent, and the streamed reply comes back. Your infrastructure, your agent. The app is just the remote. New to this setup? The app's support page explains how it works and what you need to run it. WHAT YOU CAN DO - Connect to your broker with a URL and a bearer token. Connections use HTTPS, with plain HTTP allowed only for local-network addresses. - See every connected agent at a glance, with live online/offline status. - Send the agent work and watch its reply stream in token by token. Stop a turn mid-stream, or start a fresh thread whenever you want. - When an agent goes offline, its thread stays readable as history. - See per-turn input and output token counts when the broker reports them. - Save reusable prompts as local notes, organised by hierarchical tags like #work/project/feature. Drill down by tag, copy a note straight into a thread, or link a note to the thread it came from. Notes live on your device only; they never touch the broker. WHAT YOU NEED - A broker you run, reachable from your phone (over your local network, or remotely through a tunnel or private network you control). - A coding agent, Claude Code or Codex, running in Docker Sandbox and connected to that broker. PRIVACY Sandbox Relay talks only to the broker you configure. Your access token is stored securely on your device and sent only to that broker, to authenticate you; it never goes to the developer or any third party. Your notes stay on your device and are never sent anywhere. No third-party analytics, no account to create. Note that the app streams whatever your agent outputs, verbatim.

Screenshots

Shepherd4 screens
Sandbox Relay4 screens

Verdict

The call

Shepherd and Sandbox Relay are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters — price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Shepherd versus Sandbox Relay: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShepherdSandbox Relay
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyWeekly—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size61 MB32 MB
Age rating+412+
DeveloperEgor KolesnikovEric Boumendil

In-app purchases

None

Shepherd

No in-app purchases

None

Sandbox Relay

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Shepherd free?
Shepherd is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sandbox Relay free?
Sandbox Relay is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Shepherd or Sandbox Relay have ads?
Neither Shepherd nor Sandbox Relay shows ads.

Other comparisons