# a-Shell 8 Hacker News commenters recommended a-Shell and 3 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 13 months. **Verdict:** A free terminal app for iPad and iPhone that gives a shell with Python, pip packages and Unix utilities, useful for running scripts on iOS. Critics say it is limited next to Termux and feels more like a toy than a tool. ## Why people recommend it - Runs Python scripts on iOS (3 comments): "I already use a-shell to run python scripts that fetch media, news summaries, server dashboards etc." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45957099)) "It includes a wasm compiled ffmpeg binary and you can install (Python only) pip packages." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50220618)) "you can integrate a-Shell[0] with iOS Shortcuts" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45837462)) - Offers Linux-style command line (2 comments): "iSH and a-shell offer some (emulated, non-JIT) Linux CLI functionality on iPad" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45897852)) "You can get command-line and unix utils only in virtual machines like a-shell." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45900734)) ## What people warn about - Limited compared to real tools (2 comments): "they don't have GUI capability and are somewhat limited in other ways" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47267373)) "I consider it more of a toy than a tool" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45899615)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Ghostty](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ghostty.md): 401 recommend - [Termux](https://hackerapproved.com/p/termux.md): 188 recommend - [iTerm2](https://hackerapproved.com/p/iterm2.md): 95 recommend - [Warp terminal](https://hackerapproved.com/p/warp-terminal.md): 84 recommend - [Kitty terminal emulator](https://hackerapproved.com/p/kitty.md): 79 recommend ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "a-Shell", https://hackerapproved.com/p/a-shell/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).