Comparison

SSHHIP vs Lochan

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

Head to head
About

SSHHIP

A focused terminal client for developers to connect to their remote machines and resume existing tmux or herdr sessions. It offers secure authentication, a CommandDial for quick commands, and image transfer capabilities, all with a local-first design.

Highlights
  • Connect to remote hosts via SSH
  • Attach to existing tmux/herdr sessions
  • CommandDial for saved commands and keys
  • Image transfer to host over SFTP
  • Secure authentication options
  • Local-first design with iCloud sync option
Features
Read full description

SSHHIP is a focused iPhone and iPad terminal client for developers who keep real work running on their own machines. Add your Mac mini, workstation, or homelab host, connect with Automatic or direct SSH, and jump back into the tmux or herdr session you already use. SSHHIP is built for the small moments when you need to check a build, guide a coding agent, restart a process, or send one careful command while away from your desk. SSHHIP keeps the workflow familiar: - Save hosts you own or administer. - Connect directly, without a SSHHIP account or hosted relay. - Choose Automatic, direct SSH, or Mosh per host; Automatic uses Mosh when available and falls back to SSH. - Use Automatic authentication for Tailscale SSH or other hosts that accept keyless SSH, import an unencrypted or passphrase-encrypted OpenSSH Ed25519 or ECDSA private key, or generate a non-exportable Secure Enclave P-256 key. - Attach to existing tmux or herdr sessions with one tap. - Use the CommandDial for saved command snippets, common keys, sticky arrow D-pad navigation, directional pane focus in tmux or herdr, paste, selection, voice, keyboard control, and contextual multiplexer actions, with a resting-puck tap fallback to an organized full command menu where frequently used commands can be pinned. - Send a clipboard image or selected photos to your connected host over SFTP and insert their remote paths. - Optionally sync saved-host metadata across your Apple devices through your private iCloud database. - Keep imported credentials in the iOS Keychain and hardware-backed keys in the Secure Enclave. - Use a polished dark interface designed for terminal work. SSHHIP is local-first by design. There is no SSHHIP backend, no cloud vault, no analytics SDK, no advertising, and no tracking. Command snippets and command-menu pins stay on your device. Your host list also stays on your device unless you turn on saved-host iCloud sync. When enabled, saved-host metadata syncs through your private iCloud database; passwords, imported private keys, passphrases, and Secure Enclave key references still stay out of CloudKit. Automatic hosts can connect without a saved password when the SSH server allows it. Passwords and imported private keys that you save stay in Keychain. Secure Enclave private keys are non-exportable and never leave the hardware. Terminal traffic goes between your iOS device and the hosts you configure over SSH. When you choose Send Image, each selected image goes directly from your iOS device to that connected host over SFTP, and SSHHIP inserts the remote path into your terminal input line. SSHHIP is a one-time purchase. Every feature is free for one month, then you can buy the lifetime unlock once to keep using SSH, multiplexer shortcuts, themes, saved hosts, and client-side features. SSHHIP is narrow on purpose: a calm, native way to get back to your own terminal.

About

Lochan

Features
Read full description

Your coding agents keep working when you step away. Lochan is how you keep up with them, calmly. When Claude Code, Codex or any other agent on your computer stops to ask a question, open its real terminal on your phone, read what it did, and answer. Then get back to your walk. A CALM VIEW OF A BUSY HERD Every agent on the machine at a glance, with a line on where each one left off. The ones waiting on you always come first. - Tiles: the whole herd as a grid that moves as your agents do - Board: Blocked, Working, Done and Idle as columns you swipe through - Projects: agents grouped by the project they are working in ASK THE SHEPHERD One question, the whole herd. The Shepherd is an agent on your computer that reads every other pane. Ask it what needs you, what changed or whether anything is stuck, and it answers from what is on the screens, with a link to each pane it mentions. It runs Claude Code by default, or Codex, Pi, OpenCode or Grok. ANY AGENT CAN JOIN THE HERD Lochan does not plug into your agent. It opens the terminal the agent is already running in, so it works with Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Grok, OpenCode, Aider and anything else with a prompt. A new agent works the day it ships. A REAL TERMINAL, IN YOUR POCKET Tap any agent for the actual session: full output, scrollback and a keyboard. MAKE THE KEYS YOUR OWN Two rows of keys sit above the terminal. Drag any key to either row, switch off the ones you never use, and add your own: - Text keys for the commands you repeat, like /compact, /usage or /model sonnet - Chord keys for Ctrl, Option and Shift combos, like your tmux prefix or Ctrl-R SHARE A SCREENSHOT WITH YOUR AGENT Pick a photo, take one of the screen in front of you, or send a file. It lands on your computer and its path goes into the prompt, ready for you to finish and send. SAY IT. CHECK IT. SEND IT. Dictate a long instruction, read the transcript, and send it only when it reads right. Or write it in a real text box, with a draft that waits if you get pulled away. RUN THE HERD FROM YOUR PHONE Start a new agent in any project, rename it, and close it when it is done. BUILT FOR A PHONE Lochan tells each agent it is being driven from a phone, so it leads with the answer, keeps replies short and batches its questions. PAIRED IN ONE SCAN Run one line on your Mac or Linux machine, then scan the code it shows. Your phone makes its own key, and it stays in the phone's Keychain. Nothing to type, no private key to copy. Save every machine you own and switch between them from the title bar. No account, and no Lochan server in between: your phone talks to your computers over SSH. Away from home you need a route to them, and Tailscale is the two-minute version. ALSO IN LOCHAN: A PRIVATE AI CHAT Chat with Apple's on-device model, open models downloaded to your phone, or cloud models with your own API key. Conversations branch instead of overwriting, and you can share one with a link we cannot read. Lochan works with Herdr, the terminal workspace for AI coding agents, on the computers you own.

Screenshots

SSHHIP4 screens
Lochan4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Lochan at none against SSHHIP's 1. SSHHIP's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs fortnightly) and chart position (#80 vs unranked). On price, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. SSHHIP sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Lochan asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SSHHIP ships an update every 4 days, Lochan fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
SSHHIP versus Lochan: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSSHHIPLochan
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (16 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings16 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
Best chart rank#80 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size17 MB63 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperKun ChenPurplecones, LLC

In-app purchases

1 purchases

SSHHIP

One-time1
  • SSHHIP Lifetime Unlock$29.99
None

Lochan

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SSHHIP free?
SSHHIP is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Lochan free?
Lochan is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do SSHHIP or Lochan have ads?
Neither SSHHIP nor Lochan shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SSHHIP or Lochan?
SSHHIP ships an update every 4 days, and Lochan fortnightly. Most recently, SSHHIP was updated on October 9, 2026 and Lochan on October 10, 2026.

Other comparisons