---
title: "a-Shell - Reviews, Revenue and Downloads in United States | Apple App Store"
description: "a-Shell is a complete local terminal emulator, allowing to run most Unix commands on your iOS device. You can transfer files using scp and curl, edit them with vim and ed, process them using grep, awk"
---

# a-Shell — United States
> *Local* Unix terminal (& ssh)

![a-Shell App Icon](https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Purple221/v4/2a/42/6b/2a426bfd-b6e5-db69-be9f-e81aa935c454/AppIcon-1x_U007emarketing-0-8-0-85-220-0.png/434x0w.png)

**Developer:** [Nicolas Holzschuch](https://apptail.io/developer/nicolas-holzschuch-jhrb)
**Category:** Developer Tools
**Rating:** 4.6/5 (495 ratings)
**Price:** Free
**Bundle ID:** AsheKube.app.a-Shell
**Store:** Apple App Store
**Country:** United States
**Version:** 1.17.5 (released 2026-01-29)
**Original Release:** 2019-10-25
**Languages:** English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Spanish

**App Store Link:** [Download on Apple App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/app/id1473805438)
**AppTail Page:** [https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/united-states](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/united-states)

## a-Shell Description
a-Shell is a complete local terminal emulator, allowing to run most Unix commands on your iOS device. You can transfer files using scp and curl, edit them with vim and ed, process them using grep, awk and sed. You can work with git repositories using lg2. 
Most commands are compiled for iOS native Arm64 format, making them fast and well integrated with the BSD Unix that powers iOS/iPadOS.

a-Shell includes Python, Lua, Perl, JavaScript, C, C++ for programming and TeX (texlive 2025, with Tikz and LuaTeX) for text processing. 

There are also multiple network utilities: nslookup, ping, whois, ifconfig... Type help for help, help -l to get the full list of commands. 

a-Shell can be controlled from Shortcuts: run commands in order, process files in a-Shell, get the results as text or files, transfer files to other apps...

a-shell uses iOS 13+ “multiple windows” ability, so you can run multiple shells at the same time, with different commands, in different directories. You can edit a file in one window with vim and process it in the other with python. 

Compile your C or C++ programs to webAssembly using clang or clang++, and execute the resulting binary. A complete webAssembly SDK is included (WASI-libc).

a-Shell is the complete version. If you need a smaller app, and you don't need a C compiler, a TeX engine, or numpy and matplotlib, there is a-Shell mini.

## a-Shell Screenshots
- [Screenshot 1](https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Purple113/v4/ad/b9/25/adb92590-431c-b3d9-84d6-205987bef2a3/pr_source.png/1242x2688.png)
- [Screenshot 2](https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Purple123/v4/7a/56/f0/7a56f018-e4b4-87d9-dd0e-ba9d1d24421a/pr_source.png/1242x2688.png)
- [Screenshot 3](https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Purple123/v4/89/80/3c/89803ce2-dfdc-f08f-7639-174b68cd865b/pr_source.png/1242x2688.png)
- [Screenshot 4](https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Purple123/v4/89/12/2f/89122fce-99a1-540c-588a-3ed65d125cdd/pr_source.png/1242x2688.png)
- [Screenshot 5](https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Purple113/v4/9f/42/31/9f4231f0-26dd-a8af-4cf7-492be48e1774/pr_source.png/1242x2688.png)

## a-Shell Rating Breakdown in United States
- 5 stars: 396 (80%)
- 4 stars: 43 (9%)
- 3 stars: 21 (4%)
- 2 stars: 13 (3%)
- 1 stars: 22 (4%)

## a-Shell Reviews in United States

### *---- "Why does this not have nano?"
why is nano not included? if it doesn't have gpl standard utilities, this isn't very useful.
-- Some Guy from space, 2024-12-12

### ***** "Amazing toolkit!"
The app I could never find. Local terminal with more. Awesome app! Super handy.
-- Jackal X, 2024-12-09

### ***** "Runs a terminal directly on iPad"
This is a pretty impressive terminal. I can run python programs directly on the terminal. Support for pip, SFTP, SSH, etc.
-- Jcenmiami, 2024-11-12

### ***** "Some feature suggestion"
Salute the developer.
Hi,I have some feature suggestions, and I don't know if you can add them in the future.
1. It has its own directory and can be accessed directly in the software.
2.You can directly run the specified file by accessing your own directory, so you don't need to enter the running instructions.
3.When we share code from third party software, the program to the software can provide the ability to view the code and run the code.
The above is my personal advice, of course, whether to implement these features is entirely up to you, but no matter what changes will be made in the future, I hope this development tool will be better and better here.Finally, I hope you can have a good mood every day.🤭
-- dptub, 2024-11-02

### ***** "A power users tool"
Having the power of Unix, a Python interpreter, and integration with Shortcuts unlocks power that is not usually available to iPad users. Really really cool.
-- Subcomandante, 2024-09-03

### ***-- "It is a shell, I’ll say that for it."
A 4096 bit rsa key generates much faster on here than iSH.

If you copy a cat’d public key and paste it into your authorized keys through another ssh app you’ll probably run into denied permission issues when trying to connect.  For reference, this appeared to be a clipboard issue when pasting the cat outputted a-shell key into the authorized keys file of a server already connected via Termius.

Tap support could be better.  Cursor could stay in prompt when a selection occurs but doesn’t.

So far it’s not a great SSH tool. More of a novelty shell for limited local play.
-- itsreallyjustsamk, 2024-08-18

### ***** "Ganz in Ordnung"
A lot of work went into this. Shell seems stable. Now to read more about this shell and shell scripting abilities.
-- Macappleguy, 2024-07-31

### ***** "I love this app"
This is truly one of the most empowering apps on the AppStore enabling my phone and iPad to be much more powerful. 
This is something that should be native to iOS and iPadOS but I'm very grateful that Nicolas developed this tool !
-- Abcdef10000, 2024-07-20

### ***** "Great app for vim & python users"
I have been using it for educational purposes. I am currently learning the basics of python through the “Python For Everybody” course on Coursera. I was able to write short scripts on a-shell to pull and process data from the web.

My only problem so far is that I am struggling to install scipy on a-shell. Hopefully I will find a solution to that problem soon.
-- SquEu, 2024-07-08

### *---- "Won’t let me remove it"
No way to remove the app once it’s downloaded. Wont allow me to change the directory so it’s stuck on documents.

Pretty worthless.
-- Soul.Embargo, 2024-06-26

### ***** "a-Shell is a must-have for bringing the full power of a terminal interface to your iOS device."
a-Shell is an outstanding terminal interface app for iOS, boasting a user-friendly design and powerful features. It supports a wide range of Linux commands, enabling seamless interaction with servers and local files. Its robust performance ensures smooth operation, even with complex scripts, and regular updates enhance its reliability and security.

Whether for professional development or personal projects, a-Shell is a must-have for bringing the full power of a terminal interface to your iOS device.
-- michexta, 2024-06-12

### ***** "Very impressive application given its inherent limitations"
This app deserves five stars for being as amazingly capable and straightforward as I feel bash can be given iOS sandboxing and other limitations. I have tried a few different terminal/bash/ssh apps now this is definitely a favorite of mine. I like the mini version too not because I need the light weight but because it means two commands can run at once (if I fight with iOS memory management to keep both apps “foregrounded” 😂).
-- Serge Guz, 2024-05-21

### ****- "A shell."
It's a local, non-emulated shell. Simple. Just wish it had APT or pacman.
-- anickname028, 2024-04-16

### ***** "a-shell is quite capable of many Unix-like activities"
After running both iSH and a-shell, I found more capabilities in a-shell. Plus, with local and remote shell capabilities, there is a better method for running Linux or Unix commands, sftp’d over from a cloud server and run in the a-shell command line.
I was able to run inxi from a recent sftp grab and piped results to a local text file. ISH cannot do that yet, as ssh and sftp are not yet implemented.
-- GrapsterJunior, 2024-04-11

### ***** "Perfect for PDFLaTeX on the go"
After a lot of searching for mobile LaTeX environments that are no longer maintained and are no longer in a useful state, I was pleasantly surprised to come across a-shell through a YouTube video talking about generating PDF files from iOS.  It may not have a fancy autocomplete editing environment but generating PDF documents is a breeze. I wish it was a lot easier to find.
-- WhiplashZamboniMan, 2024-03-12

### ***** "Very good app"
Quite useful, would recommend
-- arbitrarynerd, 2024-02-18

### ***** "?good"
How do you access Python?
-- Ygrjigkhbgjy bnhhgjhbBonn, 2024-01-19

### ***** "Arm Macs"
Heck Yeah Baby!
-- JustACleverKid, 2024-01-15

### ***** "Impressive"
Especially given all the constraints on iOS/iPadOS, this is really well done 🙏
-- cosmin.nicolaescu, 2023-12-31

### ***-- "Feels more like proof-of-concept"
To be entirely clear: this is a functioning app. It works (though it needs a proper Git client imo) on its own. But it still doesn't feel *complete*. My theory: I'm missing BaSH a lot. Part of the reason the POSIX standard is so widespread is because of the elegant, expressive syntax you can get with it: `tar c target | gzip > target.tar.gz`. Here, you don't even get a for-loop, which is (to say the least) frustrating. TeX is useful, but I'm offloading this for now. Nick, I want you to know that I think this is a very cool, well-built project, but I think it needs some more polishing. Oh, and a dark mode!
-- darkwater4213, 2023-12-06

[View all a-Shell reviews and detailed analytics on AppTail](https://apptail.io/account/signup?utm_campaign=ai-crawl&utm_content=reviews)


## a-Shell Store Rankings
| Chart | Country | Category | Rank |
|-------|---------|----------|------|
| Top Free | New Zealand | Developer Tools | #12 |
| Top Free | South Korea | Developer Tools | #13 |
| Top Free | Australia | Developer Tools | #13 |
| Top Free | Ukraine | Developer Tools | #14 |
| Top Free | Kuwait | Developer Tools | #14 |
| Top Free | Canada | Developer Tools | #14 |
| Top Free | Czechia | Developer Tools | #15 |
| Top Free | Japan | Developer Tools | #15 |
| Top Free | Azerbaijan | Developer Tools | #15 |
| Top Free | Egypt | Developer Tools | #16 |
| Top Free | Thailand | Developer Tools | #17 |
| Top Free | Poland | Developer Tools | #17 |
| Top Free | Belgium | Developer Tools | #17 |
| Top Free | Ecuador | Developer Tools | #18 |
| Top Free | France | Developer Tools | #19 |
| Top Free | United Kingdom | Developer Tools | #19 |
| Top Free | Taiwan | Developer Tools | #20 |
| Top Free | Germany | Developer Tools | #20 |
| Top Free | Colombia | Developer Tools | #21 |
| Top Free | Greece | Developer Tools | #22 |
| Top Free | Indonesia | Developer Tools | #22 |
| Top Free | Romania | Developer Tools | #23 |
| Top Free | Singapore | Developer Tools | #24 |
| Top Free | United States | Developer Tools | #24 |
| Top Free | Hong Kong SAR China | Developer Tools | #24 |
| Top Free | Hungary | Developer Tools | #25 |
| Top Free | Finland | Developer Tools | #26 |
| Top Free | Spain | Developer Tools | #28 |
| Top Free | Austria | Developer Tools | #28 |
| Top Free | Sweden | Developer Tools | #28 |
| Top Free | Türkiye | Developer Tools | #29 |
| Top Free | Norway | Developer Tools | #32 |
| Top Free | South Africa | Developer Tools | #32 |
| Top Free | Kazakhstan | Developer Tools | #33 |
| Top Free | United Arab Emirates | Developer Tools | #33 |
| Top Free | Peru | Developer Tools | #34 |
| Top Free | Portugal | Developer Tools | #35 |
| Top Free | Malaysia | Developer Tools | #36 |
| Top Free | Vietnam | Developer Tools | #36 |
| Top Free | Brazil | Developer Tools | #36 |
| Top Free | Belarus | Developer Tools | #37 |
| Top Free | India | Developer Tools | #40 |
| Top Free | China | Developer Tools | #41 |
| Top Free | Italy | Developer Tools | #43 |
| Top Free | Chile | Developer Tools | #43 |
| Top Free | Israel | Developer Tools | #43 |
| Top Free | Dominican Republic | Developer Tools | #45 |
| Top Free | Argentina | Developer Tools | #47 |
| Top Free | Philippines | Developer Tools | #52 |
| Top Free | Mexico | Developer Tools | #55 |
| Top Free | Nigeria | Developer Tools | #56 |
| Top Free | Saudi Arabia | Developer Tools | #59 |
| Top Free | Lebanon | Developer Tools | #70 |
| Top Free | Netherlands | Developer Tools | #74 |
| Top Free | Ireland | Developer Tools | #117 |
| Top Free | Pakistan | Developer Tools | #118 |
| Top Free | Switzerland | Developer Tools | #125 |
| Top Free | Denmark | Developer Tools | #128 |

## a-Shell Discovered Keywords
- shel
- xterminal
- mterminal
- ssh terminal
- webssh
- ssh
- terminal x
- locals c
- a shell
- openterm

## Apps Similar to a-Shell
- [WebSSH - Sysadmin Toolbox](https://apptail.io/app/webssh-sysadmin-toolbox-IYb/united-states)
- [Termius - Modern SSH Client](https://apptail.io/app/termius-modern-ssh-client-XCc/united-states)
- [Git client - Working Copy](https://apptail.io/app/git-client-working-copy-dnf/united-states)
- [Pyto IDE](https://apptail.io/app/pyto-ide-xSp/united-states)
- [iSH Shell](https://apptail.io/app/ish-shell-JTp/united-states)
- [SSH Client - Terminal & SFTP](https://apptail.io/app/ssh-client-terminal-sftp-gGs/united-states)
- [ServerCat - SSH Terminal](https://apptail.io/app/servercat-ssh-terminal-pDu/united-states)
- [xTerminal - SSH Terminal Shell](https://apptail.io/app/xterminal-ssh-terminal-shell-XAx/united-states)
- [Blink Shell, Build & Code](https://apptail.io/app/blink-shell-build-code-BUA/united-states)
- [Terminal#](https://apptail.io/app/terminal-ofD/united-states)

## a-Shell Available In
- [United States](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/united-states)
- [Germany](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/germany)
- [China](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/china)
- [Japan](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/japan)
- [United Kingdom](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/united-kingdom)
- [Canada](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/canada)
- [Australia](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/australia)
- [France](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/france)
- [South Korea](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/south-korea)
- [Brazil](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/brazil)
- [India](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/india)
- [Italy](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/italy)
- [Taiwan](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/taiwan)
- [Switzerland](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/switzerland)
- [Spain](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/spain)
- [Netherlands](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/netherlands)
- [Vietnam](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/vietnam)
- [Mexico](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/mexico)
- [Hong Kong SAR China](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/hong-kong)
- [Poland](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/poland)
- [Sweden](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/sweden)
- [Austria](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/austria)
- [Czechia](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/czechia)
- [Türkiye](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/turkey)
- [Ukraine](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/ukraine)
- [Thailand](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/thailand)
- [Slovakia](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/slovakia)
- [Belgium](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/belgium)
- [Denmark](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/denmark)
- [Saudi Arabia](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/saudi-arabia)
- [Norway](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/norway)
- [Indonesia](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/indonesia)
- [United Arab Emirates](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/united-arab-emirates)
- [New Zealand](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/new-zealand)
- [Ireland](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/ireland)
- [Singapore](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/singapore)
- [Philippines](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/philippines)
- [Hungary](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/hungary)
- [Chile](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/chile)
- [Belarus](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/belarus)
- [Israel](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/israel)
- [Colombia](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/colombia)
- [South Africa](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/south-africa)
- [Finland](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/finland)
- [Croatia](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/croatia)
- [Nigeria](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/nigeria)
- [Estonia](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/estonia)
- [Peru](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/peru)
- [Uzbekistan](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/uzbekistan)
- [Malaysia](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/malaysia)
- [Romania](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/romania)
- [Qatar](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/qatar)
- [Bulgaria](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/bulgaria)
- [Lithuania](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/lithuania)
- [Luxembourg](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/luxembourg)
- [Latvia](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/latvia)
- [Kazakhstan](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/kazakhstan)
- [Senegal](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/senegal)
- [Kuwait](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/kuwait)
- [Sri Lanka](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/sri-lanka)
- [Malta](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/malta)
- [Greece](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/greece)
- [Ghana](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/ghana)
- [Nepal](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/nepal)
- [Panama](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/panama)
- [Pakistan](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/pakistan)
- [Paraguay](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/paraguay)
- [Algeria](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/algeria)
- [Dominican Republic](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/dominican-republic)
- [Cyprus](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/cyprus)
- [Slovenia](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/slovenia)
- [Argentina](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/argentina)
- [Jordan](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/jordan)
- [Barbados](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/barbados)
- [Ecuador](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/ecuador)
- [Portugal](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/portugal)
- [Azerbaijan](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/azerbaijan)
- [Madagascar](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/madagascar)
- [Lebanon](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/lebanon)
- [Uganda](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/uganda)
- [Angola](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/angola)
- [Uruguay](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/uruguay)
- [Kenya](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/kenya)
- [Brunei](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/brunei)
- [Jamaica](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/jamaica)
- [Suriname](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/suriname)
- [Mauritius](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/mauritius)
- [Namibia](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/namibia)
- [Armenia](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/armenia)
- [Bahrain](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/bahrain)
- [Grenada](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/grenada)
- [Tunisia](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/tunisia)
- [Egypt](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/egypt)
- [Oman](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/oman)
- [Iceland](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/iceland)
- [Macao SAR China](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/macau)
- [North Macedonia](https://apptail.io/app/a-shell-gys/north-macedonia)

---

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