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?
Would love to hear your thoughts.
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