Blink Shell, Build & Code

Name: Blink Shell, Build & Code
Rating: 3.1 (385 reviews)
Author: Blink Shell, Inc

The Pro tool for developers

Free · In‑App Purchases

385 Ratings
Ages

16+
Years
Category

Developer Tools
Developer

Blink Shell, Inc
Language

EN
English
Size

240
MB

Do Blink! Transform your iOS device into a pro-grade terminal. Blink is the first professional, desktop-grade terminal for iOS that leverages the support of Mosh and SSH. Thus, we can guarantee stable connections, crazy-fast speeds, and full configurations. It can and should be your all-day-long tool. **Start your 14-day free trial now!** But, Blink is much more. Now with Blink Code and Blink Build**, your entire development workflow fits in your pocket. What the Blink community is saying: “In some ways, I prefer my iPad / Blink / Digital Ocean setup to coding on my Mac“ - TheVerge "I have tried a number of terminals on iOS and this is really The One." - Twit.tv “Connections still come up when I get back to a client project after a weekend off.“ - The Sweet Setup “The way to use VS Code on the iPad” - programminglife.io What our users love the most from Blink Shell: - Mosh connections that even survive a device reboot. - Most complete SSH implementation on iOS. - Code command for VS Code integration. - Blazingly fast terminal and SFTP transfers. - Includes Pragmata Pro with ligatures. Blink Shell has a fully loaded SSH toolset: - SSH with PKI support: DSA, RSA, ECDSA & ED25519 keys. - Support for Secure Enclave Keys and Certificates. - Port forwarding with local, remote & dynamic tunnel support. - SOCKS5 proxy for a private VPN. - Agent Forwarding. - Complete SSH Config file support. - ControlMaster and pooled connections. - Files.app integration for SFTP remote hosts. - SFTP with copy-on-change. Blink has been the leading developer tool in the AppStore for +5 years, so there is a lot more: - External Display support. - Legendary Hardware Keyboard support, even remap shortcuts and keyboard codes. - Local & iCloud Blink Shell folders for Files.app access across devices. - Host sync over iCloud. - Link-files from other applications and work with them in Blink. - Cool themes and fonts, and install your own! - Smart Keys on SW Keyboard to navigate with touch. - FaceCam command to create tutorials and streams. - Bell notifications. - Supports multiple windows and multiple tabs. - Network & UNIX CLI tools, check our docs for more information. Blink Code integrates with VS Code: - Code on local projects, or seamlessly on remote machines. - Fully-loaded code editor. - A coding experience fitted to your device, that connects to VS Code for web, GitHub Codespaces, GitPod or your own VS Code server. Blink Build (Requires a $7.99/month subscription) Creates remote runtimes that can be accessed on all your devices. You can use Build in your day-to-day workflows whether you need to do development, DevOps or just play around with new tooling. Participate in our community, and don’t forget to leave us your feedback and your feature(s) requests. Enjoy! http://blink.sh http://twitter.com/blinkshell http://GitHub.com/blinksh Terms of Use: https://blink.sh/blink-gpl Privacy Policy: https://blink.sh/pp * Blink Code is not affiliated nor endorsed by Microsoft. ** Blink Build requires a separate subscription to make use of our Virtual Machines.

Ratings & Reviews

3.1

out of 5

385 Ratings

Most visually appealing, minimal SSH/Mosh client (minus the subscription model)
01/24/2024

heywoodlh
This app is my favorite SSH and Mosh client. I appreciate the local Unix utilities it provides and the fact that it looks and behaves like a terminal emulator. The visual minimalism by default is excellent.My one issue is with the recurring subscription model. I would rate it five stars if there was a one-time purchase option (even if it was per device — I’d happily pay $5-10 per device I needed Blink on). It makes it hard to recommend to interested friends or colleagues when there isn’t a free option or a one-time purchase option. Thankfully, I was grandfathered into the Blink Legacy pricing (which offered a one-time purchase). Please bring one-time purchases back!
Most visually appealing, minimal SSH/Mosh client (minus the subscription model)
01/24/2024

heywoodlh

This app is my favorite SSH and Mosh client. I appreciate the local Unix utilities it provides and the fact that it looks and behaves like a terminal emulator. The visual minimalism by default is excellent.My one issue is with the recurring subscription model. I would rate it five stars if there was a one-time purchase option (even if it was per device — I’d happily pay $5-10 per device I needed Blink on). It makes it hard to recommend to interested friends or colleagues when there isn’t a free option or a one-time purchase option. Thankfully, I was grandfathered into the Blink Legacy pricing (which offered a one-time purchase). Please bring one-time purchases back!
Free version nag-screens are a real thing
11/14/2022

Throwaway112022
I like the app and what it does. And I don’t really have a problem with a yearly subscription of $20 for the full version, I am not against subscriptions per se. I am also ok with the free version being limited in some way (including by a nag-screen) - that is after all how you evaluate before purchasing. But I have to say, the way that the developers have implemented the nag-screen to upgrade is a first for me. So much so that this is the first review I have ever made in the AppStore and this nag-screen implementation has turned me off the app so much that I will not be subscribing.This may not be a problem for everyone. But saying “there is a nag-screen, no big deal” does not give the full picture. They are transparent that the nag-screen will come up “up to a max of 3x per day”. What they don’t say is that there is a timer on the nag-screen that interrupts what you are doing for a significant time: 20seconds perhaps? Worse, if you “shake your device to fill this up quicker” the timer is supposed to be shorter but there really is not way to tell if that is so. As long as it counts down clearly, 5 seconds I could live with. Maybe even 10. But the timer as it is is just too random and long - and being asked to “shake to fill” is just juvenile…If the developers do not want to limit the app in other ways (only offer a subset of features?) my suggestion is to change that timeout to allow a limited “give me 5min” holds before it is forced (I would not be happy if I had a time critical situation and being forced to pause for 20sec). And rather than a “shake” prompt, my $0.02 is to just change it into a “take a break, it is better for you anyway” count down the seconds message…
Free version nag-screens are a real thing
11/14/2022

Throwaway112022

I like the app and what it does. And I don’t really have a problem with a yearly subscription of $20 for the full version, I am not against subscriptions per se. I am also ok with the free version being limited in some way (including by a nag-screen) - that is after all how you evaluate before purchasing. But I have to say, the way that the developers have implemented the nag-screen to upgrade is a first for me. So much so that this is the first review I have ever made in the AppStore and this nag-screen implementation has turned me off the app so much that I will not be subscribing.This may not be a problem for everyone. But saying “there is a nag-screen, no big deal” does not give the full picture. They are transparent that the nag-screen will come up “up to a max of 3x per day”. What they don’t say is that there is a timer on the nag-screen that interrupts what you are doing for a significant time: 20seconds perhaps? Worse, if you “shake your device to fill this up quicker” the timer is supposed to be shorter but there really is not way to tell if that is so. As long as it counts down clearly, 5 seconds I could live with. Maybe even 10. But the timer as it is is just too random and long - and being asked to “shake to fill” is just juvenile…If the developers do not want to limit the app in other ways (only offer a subset of features?) my suggestion is to change that timeout to allow a limited “give me 5min” holds before it is forced (I would not be happy if I had a time critical situation and being forced to pause for 20sec). And rather than a “shake” prompt, my $0.02 is to just change it into a “take a break, it is better for you anyway” count down the seconds message…
I hate that this app is good.
12/26/2025

AOANLA
I have been on a months-long quest to find an acceptable terminal app that I can actually own instead of rent. Unfortunately, every other option I tried (Termius was second-best) has dealbreaking flaws of one kind or another.Blink does not. It has flaws, but no dealbreakers. It also has several excellent and very useful day-to-day features that no other terminal app I have tried manages to implement all at once, and a few really good UI ideas I've never seen in a mobile terminal before. It's *relatively* stable for a mobile terminal app, the screen drawing issues aren't *usually* bad enough to force me to close the app and start over—a low bar, but no other app consistently meets it. And it feels and works remarkably like a NORMAL TERMINAL instead of somebody's fever dream of what the Terminal of the Future should be.The business model disgusts me. The *instant* I hear of an acceptable mobile terminal with an ethical business model, I will switch. I really hope I can do that before I need to pay next year's terminal rent. Two stars.
I hate that this app is good.
12/26/2025

AOANLA

I have been on a months-long quest to find an acceptable terminal app that I can actually own instead of rent. Unfortunately, every other option I tried (Termius was second-best) has dealbreaking flaws of one kind or another.Blink does not. It has flaws, but no dealbreakers. It also has several excellent and very useful day-to-day features that no other terminal app I have tried manages to implement all at once, and a few really good UI ideas I've never seen in a mobile terminal before. It's *relatively* stable for a mobile terminal app, the screen drawing issues aren't *usually* bad enough to force me to close the app and start over—a low bar, but no other app consistently meets it. And it feels and works remarkably like a NORMAL TERMINAL instead of somebody's fever dream of what the Terminal of the Future should be.The business model disgusts me. The *instant* I hear of an acceptable mobile terminal with an ethical business model, I will switch. I really hope I can do that before I need to pay next year's terminal rent. Two stars.
Unsavory Developer Practices
11/27/2023

scott.bug
I happily paid 20 USD for this app a few years ago and really loved its clean responsive minimal interface and the reliability of its connections, but went a while without needing it and didn’t get any notifications or emails warning me of the eventual deprecation of that app.Its frustrating to find that in order to continue using the app I’d have to shell out a monthly subscription. Reading some of the other comments I’m seeing the devs suggest continuing to use the old version unsupported, or build the new version from source since its open source. However, the old version seems to not even be rendering text properly on my ipad anymore, and as someone without a mac to access XCode, building from source isnt an option either.I understand a subscription might be necessary to cover recurring server costs and add new features. But for someone who paid a not-insignificant sum for the app and doesn’t need those features, it feels like a pretty raw deal.
Unsavory Developer Practices
11/27/2023

scott.bug

I happily paid 20 USD for this app a few years ago and really loved its clean responsive minimal interface and the reliability of its connections, but went a while without needing it and didn’t get any notifications or emails warning me of the eventual deprecation of that app.Its frustrating to find that in order to continue using the app I’d have to shell out a monthly subscription. Reading some of the other comments I’m seeing the devs suggest continuing to use the old version unsupported, or build the new version from source since its open source. However, the old version seems to not even be rendering text properly on my ipad anymore, and as someone without a mac to access XCode, building from source isnt an option either.I understand a subscription might be necessary to cover recurring server costs and add new features. But for someone who paid a not-insignificant sum for the app and doesn’t need those features, it feels like a pretty raw deal.

New Prompt Mode & Snips Enhancements (1077, 2212) - We have a new Prompt Mode for composing AI prompts, with voice input, text controls with enhanced editing capabilities and auto-submit once you are done. You can start it from the Snip's Scratch mode and select Prompt. - You can now also start Snips or Scratch mode from the Smart Keys bar or with keyboard shortcuts. - The Pin feature on Snips persists the interface after sending. So you can work on the next command, resend again, etc... - Passthrough mode during editing: you can now scroll while editing Snips or creating your prompt. Mouse Drag (395). We implemented mouse drag trying to replicate the "mode" you usually have with the keyboard, so you can have more precise cursor positioning, for both touch and the trackpad. - Trackpad: Cmd+click to start drag mode, move cursor while holding Cmd, release to stop. - Touch: Long press to start drag mode and place the cursor, then start a drag to move cursor and release to stop. - Remember you can use the keyboard while you drag. Terminal updates & Mosh Update + blink-v18.4.5 - Support for newest Unicode characters and other extensions. Improved terminal rendering. - Mosh with handling of UTF8 character extension codes. This should remove the garbled output and ghost characters or lines that we have seen on editors and tools like Claude. Thanks to jdrouhard Copy/Paste Improvements - Fixed terminal copy no longer adds trailing EOL whitespace (2133) - Fixed single CJK (Chinese/Japanese/Korean) character copy selection (2136) - Added "Copy Raw" functionality with Cmd-Shift-C. Thanks to jiefeng-xu Lockdown Mode Fix (2137) - Fixed font persistence: bundled fonts now stay selected in Lockdown mode. - Non-bundled custom fonts still blocked as expected Thanks to jiefeng-xu UI Improvements - Block zoom when layout is locked. (1165) - New Hide keyboard button. (2105) - Font reset fixes to use the configure default. (1145, 1382) For more information, check out https://github.com/blinksh/blink/discussions/2220

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3h ago

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Ratings & Reviews

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Version 18.5.0

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Data Linked to You

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