RootDeck vs Vays
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side ā with what reviewers say about each.
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 ā 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 ā and approve requests as they come. ⢠Add MCP connectors from the catalog, attach files and photos, and dictate ā 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 ā 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.
Vays
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Your AI writes Markdown all day. Now you can read it anywhere. VAYS MD is a native iPhone and iPad reader and editor for .md files ā READMEs, specs, meeting notes, transcripts. Open a file and read it like a document, with real typography, not source code. No cloud in the middle. Nothing leaves your device. READ ⢠GitHub Flavored Markdown: tables, task lists, strikethrough ⢠Callout cards ā GitHub [!NOTE] / [!TIP] / [!WARNING] and Obsidian styles ⢠Display math typeset natively ā no web view ⢠shields.io badges drawn natively, front-matter shown as a tidy card ⢠Footnotes become superscripts with gathered definitions ⢠Mermaid blocks appear as clean code cards (full diagram rendering is on the roadmap) ⢠Dark mode tuned for night reading WRITE ⢠Source editor with Markdown highlighting ⢠Autosave straight back to the file ā no export dance ⢠Works with the Files app: iCloud Drive, On My iPhone, and any provider PRIVATE BY DEFAULT No account. No analytics. No network requests. Your documents stay in your storage, exactly where they were. BETTER TOGETHER WITH THE MAC APP VAYS MD Reader for Mac adds a folder library, Mermaid diagrams rendered offline, a visual diagram creator, QuickLook, PDF export and Claude Code integration. Same design, same privacy. PART OF THE VAYS FAMILY From the maker of Vays, the private voice-note app. Record on the go, read the transcript beautifully. Built by a solo developer. Every feedback email is read.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Vays at fortnightly against RootDeck's monthly. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
RootDeck ships an update monthly, Vays fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | RootDeck | Vays |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | ā |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Fortnightly ā better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | ā |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac ā better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details ā not scored | ||
| Size | 23 MB | 14 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Evgenii Lav | ARVIND JUNEJA OUMM |
In-app purchases
RootDeck
No in-app purchases
Vays
No in-app purchases









