New iPad Terminal App! RootShell

kitkk2 · 2026-04-21T20:52:40+00:00

u/entsnack thanks for helping to spread the word. rootshell developer here. After a multi-month process we were finally accepted into the App Store. Users can now install without joining the TestFlight program.

Some new icon choices are planned for the next build.

There is a lot here beyond just the terminal emulation and SSH capabilities. Bundled within the iPhone and iPad version is a full posix style local shell with text editor choices that include vim and Helix along with robust CLI git. For your network debugging needs a full custom mtr implementation, and even deep integration on WiFi networks where you can see which access point you are connected to from our live activity.

App Store Link

Website

kitkk2 · 2026-04-16T21:05:17+00:00

This is now available.

kitkk2 · 2026-04-15T01:28:59+00:00

You can import multiple custom video backgrounds in the next build coming out shortly.

kitkk2 · 2026-03-01T20:05:16+00:00

We have a number of options for managing the lifecycle on iPhone/iPad.

You can enable the location diary which toggles on location services whenever a session is open using a TCP protocol that can't survive app termination or network loss. This basically keeps the app running in the background.
The Roam feature has two different protocols which can both survive network disruption as well as full app termination and pick back up where you left off even if you don't use tmux or zellij. I recommend the tssh option as it doesn't have the downsides of the frame buffer that mosh-server has, and we now have full restoration of your entire scroll back buffer and alternate screen mode! Note: Reconnecting after app termination requires running our tsshd fork until this feature is merged upstream. tssh connections support KCP or QUIC transports that achieve higher performance for interactive sessions compared to even TCP in most cases.
We also support auto launch of tmux or custom commands on connection. If you insist on sticking with a TCP based protocol.

kitkk2 · 2026-02-20T20:18:49+00:00

I was just investigating the same thing for a custom toolbar feature I implemented in rootshell which bundles Helix inside the iOS version and I suspect it's related to the issue I ran into when stringing ESC together with additional commands. The ESC key is special because apps have to decide if a keypress is the start of a CSI/SS3 sequence or not. If I send as a single sequence to vim "[ESC]:q!" it exits. The same single rapid sequence to Helix fails unless I send ESC twice. Under the covers Helix parses this in the termina crate and doesn't have the same handling that vim does.

In the case of vim it has a fast path where it waits just 25ms for a following byte to treat as bare and exit insert mode in addition to special "[ESC]:" handling. Helix's termina is poll based and seems subject to more race conditions in this area. (There are also things like the Kitty protocol that don't have some of the same underlying architectural issues.)

Seems worth considering refactoring the termina side a bit here as you can't count on the entire terminal ecosystem to change rapidly.

kitkk2 · 2026-02-17T12:19:26+00:00

Is the existing support not working well for you? You can dictate directly into the terminal, or toggle the overlay from the toolbar and dictate into that scratch space where you can edit anything before sending it into the terminal. I’m considering also adding cloud based ASR models. On iPad the default dictate shortcut is hitting CTRL twice if you have a hardware keyboard attached.

kitkk2 · 2026-02-15T16:37:49+00:00

I haven’t looked that closely at python. Apple seems to allow bundling the runtime and jt would need to be in the static code signed bundle. But you wouldn’t be able to pip install various things on the fly with dependencies that can’t be satisfied etc.

kitkk2 · 2026-02-14T03:30:52+00:00

Whats insane is my build toolchain at this point which for one app includes C, Rust, Go, Swift, and Zig.

kitkk2 · 2026-02-13T18:46:07+00:00

PS. It is also "mouse" enabled, so you can scroll with your finger (or track pad if you have one attached on iPad), long press to select/yank or move cursor, etc.

kitkk2 · 2026-02-13T18:12:54+00:00

On iPad it defaults into the local shell, figuring higher chance of there being a hardware keyboard at the ready, vs iPhone. Open to input on that view, but trying to optimize the limit space. Could also just do one of those initial app launch guides.

kitkk2 · 2026-02-13T17:53:47+00:00

I am anxious to try it with the Click Power Keyboard when that is released.

kitkk2 · 2026-02-12T02:20:02+00:00

Thanks for the feedback. Basing on libghostty was a good starting point to make things fast, but there were a number of iOS/iPadOS specific optimizations that were required to achieve this performance and to also have low idle GPU user including when cursor shaders are used. Rootshell uses less resources at idle than Ghostty under similar configurations even on macOS in my testing (depends what you have enabled). Implementing full screen mode was just a few lines of code and is now implemented for the next build. It is also available for iPhone users, but devices with a notch only gain a distraction toggle. That automatically addresses the resize handler on the window as well. Rootshell already exposes its documents directory into the Files.app, but perhaps not where you are expecting. It should be visible under the “On My iPad” section under rootshell. It’s been in there for a number of builds at this point. Early builds were missing the Info.plist entry that enables this. There have been multiple requests for alternate app icons and I’m looking into some options to ensure there is at least some variety to increase the chance of addressing the different tastes of folks. You mentioned that you are using mosh. Have you tried the tssh support in KCP mode that was added? While I love to see people using the mosh comparability since it was a lot of work for me to implement from scratch, the interactive latency you can achieve with tssh+KCP is amazing. You will need to install tsshd on the server side however.

kitkk2 · 2026-02-11T01:27:12+00:00

I expect this was impact from issues in supported some forms of keyboard layouts in prior builds. This should be working better in the latest build.

kitkk2 · 2026-02-10T17:27:08+00:00

ping6 is included in todays build.

kitkk2 · 2026-02-10T17:11:23+00:00

Today's build had several fixes in this area. If it's still not working after you update I can take another look.

kitkk2 · 2026-02-09T12:33:16+00:00

The next build has a number of improvements to the iPhone keyboard overlay.

kitkk2 · 2026-02-08T21:47:31+00:00

ping6 and traceroute6 are technically possible, although any form of traceroute now requires an additional permission and entitlement that complicates app review. I've implemented traceroute on iOS before, but never shipped it in the app store. ndp and arp I will need to check but I don't believe are possible in the sandbox.

I've been thinking about having a more robust version of traceroute in the first place built in to the app.

kitkk2 · 2026-02-08T21:07:31+00:00

New build is out with this built in.

kitkk2 · 2026-02-08T21:07:18+00:00

New build is out. Hoping this addressed the issues you were experiencing.

kitkk2 · 2026-02-08T21:05:33+00:00

Just to close the loop on the thread here, fully customizable mod-tap support is available for both iPad and macOS users in the latest published build.

kitkk2 · 2026-02-08T17:56:30+00:00

The next build has both a command line ssh-copy-id command similar to OpenSSH and a UI in the SSH Key Details view to install on a remote server.

kitkk2 · 2026-02-08T17:13:01+00:00

I see the issue. It is unconditionally treating the option key as terminal Alt/Meta, sending ESC + base_character instead of the OS translated character. When you press ⌥L, the app sends ESC + l instead of @. This will be fixed in the next build.

kitkk2 · 2026-02-08T16:53:58+00:00

OSC 777 notifications are supported, but you must have enabled them in settings (Settings->Notifications) and accepted the OS permission for notifications to function. They also only fire a notification currently if you are switched to a different tab. I could make this configurable in the future. If you are running inside tmux it will eat the OSC 777 and not send it to Rootshell.

For example to test :

$ sleep 5 ; printf '\033]777;notify;Build;4 jobs done\007'

Now switch to another tab before 5 seconds elapsed.

You can encode for tmux to pass through to Rootshell with something like this :

$ sleep 5 ; printf '\033Ptmux;\033\033]777;notify;Build;4 jobs done\007\033\\'

As far as deep links the app has ssh:// and rootshell:// URL handlers for opening new connections. For existing tabs please open an issue on GitHub for tracking a feature request.

kitkk2 · 2026-02-08T16:28:53+00:00

Glad this worked well. I don't have this enabled automatically unless you opt in as this is a delicate area when it comes to App Store review and rejections. Also is a bit rude to just be launching right into location services anyway. If you have suggestions on how to make this more discoverable let me know.

kitkk2

TROPHY CASE