a-Shell mini

Name: a-Shell mini
Rating: 4.6 (115 reviews)
Author: Nicolas Holzschuch

By: Nicolas Holzschuch App

*Local* Unix terminal (& ssh)

Overview

Version:

2.1.0

Last updated: 2026-07-02

Ranking

#128,326 ▼ 111

Overall

Features & Capabilities

a-Shell mini is a complete local terminal emulator for iOS. It runs Python, Lua, JavaScript, and most Unix commands directly on the device with no network access. It includes native ffmpeg and image/video conversion, and supports file transfer with scp and curl, editing with vim, and scripting via shell, Python, and JavaScript.

Designed for speed and tight iOS integration, it supports iPadOS multi-window, allowing several shells in parallel across different directories. You can control it from Shortcuts to automate workflows, process files, and exchange results, all while keeping a small footprint (under 250 MB). If you need more commands and packages, consider the full a-Shell for additional Python modules, Perl, a C/C++ compiler, TeX, and more.

User Growth & Download Statistics

App Developer Tools Programming

By:

Nicolas Holzschuch

Rating:

4.60

(115)

Version:

2.1.0 Last updated: 2026-07-02

Version code:

887290307

Creation date:

2020-12-09

Compatible devices:

Size:

368.14MB

URLs:

Website ,Privacy policy

Full description:

Source:

Apple Apps Store

Data ingested on:

2026-08-15

Compare stats and ranking:

Ranking

# 128,326 ▼ 111

For Developers

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Contact the developer

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Developed by:

Nicolas Holzschuch

Apple Apps Store

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/a-shell-mini/id1543537943

Website:

https://holzschu.github.io/a-Shell_iOS/

User Reviews

Reviewers repeatedly praise a-Shell mini’s clean, intuitive GUI and its lightweight footprint. It’s valued for practical SSH and network tasks, quick access to devices, and easy navigation. Users also note it works well with iOS Shortcuts and a small, focused feature set. Reported drawbacks are infrequent and not universally shared, including occasional crashes after updates, a rotating display issue, and some feature gaps (local OpenSSL commands, Python modules in shortcuts). Overall, the app is seen as a fast, fuss-free tool for IT administration on iOS.

Pros

Clean and intuitive GUI/interface
Lightweight / small footprint with a minimal feature set
Strong for SSH and network tasks (remote management)
Easy to use and navigate with convenient input

Cons

Recent reviews

This app used to be pretty great. Now it's much less great, at least on an iPhone. Controls I relied on for reliable/manageable keyboard input are gone, like there's no way to scrollback in the shell history. There used to be. Maybe this is now optimized for an iPad UI? I don't have an iPad, so I can't compare. I can't reliably see what a backspace is doing. Seems like maybe it deletes things but the deletes don't display. Etc. I'm considering switching to something else, maybe even paying the outrageous $20/year Blink wants. Really frustrating, since I was quite happy with this app until a few months ago when things took a turn.

by sy*****, 2026-08-03

Edit: Great developer, it's fixed! 5 stars 🤩 This app and the full a-shell are amazing. The recent update to version 2 makes the keyboard icons comically large on the left side and unusable on the right side. Of course apple doesn't allow us consumers to install a previous version of the app so I'm stuck with this unwanted change. Please add option to use old keyboard buttons, the new ones are such a disaster.