Blog

Writeups and honest comparisons from building ShellDrop, a free iOS SSH client tuned for tmux and AI coding agents.

Writeups

What is the best iOS terminal app in July/August 2026?

If you are looking for a terminal app on iOS, iPadOS or visionOS that is agent-ready, there are actually very few options available.

A Security Audit of ShellDrop with Project Glasswing

Ran a security audit on ShellDrop with Glasswing, Cloudflare's multi-agent review pipeline. The architecture strengths it confirmed.

Willow Voice vs Wispr Flow

Why I switched voice keyboards after months on Willow: the rewriting problem, accuracy, speed, and the Mac app.

Sporadic dev update: 42.8% of installs are on iPad

App Store numbers for August 2026. 42.8% of installs are on iPad, and 435 devices updated to v5.0 in six days.

ShellDrop v4.0: arrow keys, scroll indicator, voice keyboard

What shipped in v4.0. Built for the way I actually use the app: SSH'd into my Mac Mini from an iPad, agent running in tmux.

One Tap: firing a command at your coding agent from your phone

The opt-in toolbar button that fires a configured command over SSH. Built for custom memory systems like MemPalace on Claude Code, Codex, or Cursor.

ShellDrop vs other iOS terminals

ShellDrop vs Termius

An SSH client for iPhone without the subscription. Tuned for managing Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor agents on a headless Mac Mini.

ShellDrop vs Blink Shell

iOS SSH without the Mosh subscription. Free and SSH-only vs paid and Mosh-focused.

ShellDrop vs Prompt 3

A free alternative to Panic's polished paid SSH app with its mature key management.

ShellDrop vs ShellFish

SSH for AI agents vs SSH plus Files-app integration for SFTP-style browsing.

ShellDrop vs Termi

Free iOS SSH tuned for tmux vs the paid indie terminal with a clean design.

ShellDrop vs vSSH

Free iOS SSH for AI agents vs the long-running cross-platform veteran.

ShellDrop vs WebSSH

Free modern iOS SSH with Secure Enclave keys vs the long-running budget app.

ShellDrop vs Mocha SSH

Free modern iOS SSH vs the long-running classic with broad terminal-emulator support.

ShellDrop vs a-Shell

Remote SSH for coding agents vs a free on-device Unix-style iOS shell.

ShellDrop vs Cathode

Modern iOS SSH tuned for tmux vs the faithful retro CRT terminal emulator.

ShellDrop is on the App Store. Universal iPhone and iPad, iOS 17+.

Download on the App Store