Mocha X11 4+

For this app to be great, it would need a few things:

a) importing the settings from the lite/demo version, switching from the lite/demo means setting up all clients again from scratch

b) support for Apple MagicKeyboard; an iPad Pro with MagicKeyboard would make a perfect X11 Terminal, but mouse pointer remains in a mode that is appropriate for a touch screen, and doesn’t recognize/change to reflect the touch pad used.

c) Allow to lock the screen size to the actual display. Even with the proper screen size chosen, one can still scroll the screen, which is annoying.

d) client templates, like e.g. for using Xephyr to get a remote desktop x11 session, this can be quite useful e.g. operating a Raspberry Pi connected over USB-C networking to an iPad Pro. It’s a nifty way of getting a programming environment and Mathematica by attaching a cigarette pack sized box to the iPad.

It really is all there, it just needs some polish, and that would make all the difference between “OK, gets the job done, somehow, but is still annoying” and “Great, it’s a joy to use.”

I don't have a Mac, so can't develop for iOS. I've coded some things using Python under iSH, using Safari for the GUI, but not everything can be done well that way. This X server fills that gap. On iSH, `export DISPLAY=0.0.0.0:0` and you won't have to worry about the actual IP number. Run `tail -f /dev/location` in the background to keep iSH running while you switch to the Mocha screen, otherwise your windows won't appear.

There are some things that could probably be done better, such as allowing it to run on localhost for better security, but I'm happy with it the way it is. Get the 'lite' version and play with that first to get used to it before paying for the Pro version. The only difference I know of is that the lite version times out in 5 minutes, and the Pro version lasts at least an hour.

Honestly, it’s hardly a replacement for an X11 client on a real computer, e.g. Xquartz on a Mac, or a real X11 environment on Linux. As an X11 environment, it’s pretty rudimentary, but setting up a client is straightforward. Starting a client is more than a little awkward on an iPad. The touch interface just isn’t natural, so using a Magic Keyboard is probably best. Then, getting the keyboard to work in an xterminal isn’t always intuitive, what with the non-obvious icons at the bottom of the screen.

However, as a stop-gap measure until you can get to a real computer, it does the job.