Building a real SSH workspace for iPhone and iPad

Yaser — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 23:55:18 +0000

SSH from a phone has always felt useful, but rarely comfortable.

Most server work happens from a laptop. But sometimes you are away and still need to check logs, restart a service, inspect disk usage, upload a file, or fix something quickly before it becomes a bigger issue.

I kept running into this problem, so I built Shellora.

The idea

Shellora is a mobile-first SSH workspace for iPhone and iPad.

I did not want it to feel like a desktop terminal squeezed onto a phone. I wanted mobile SSH to feel fast, readable, and practical.

What it includes

Real SSH terminal sessions
In-house VT100/ANSI terminal emulator
Multi-session tabs
Custom keyboard for shell commands
On-device AI command help
SFTP uploads and downloads
500+ built-in commands
220+ admin mini-apps
Host management with folders, tags, and favorites
Secure Keychain vault for passwords and SSH keys
Widgets and Live Activities

The AI part

The AI is designed to assist, not take over. You describe what you need, Shellora suggests one command, explains it, shows a danger level, and lets you choose whether to run, paste, or copy it.

Nothing runs automatically. That was important to me because SSH commands can affect real servers.

Why I built it this way

The hardest part was not just connecting to a server. It was making the whole workflow feel usable on a small screen.

A normal phone keyboard is not made for shell work, so Shellora includes dedicated keys for things like ESC, TAB, Ctrl+C, arrows, pipes, slashes, brackets, and common shell shortcuts.

The built-in tools are there for quick checks, but the terminal stays at the center.

Looking for feedback

I am sharing this because I would love feedback from developers, sysadmins, and DevOps engineers.

Do you use SSH from your phone?
What frustrates you most about mobile SSH?
Would AI command help be useful if it never runs commands automatically?
What server tools would you want on mobile?