An Apple-approved sandboxed command line is headed to the official App Store. First teased in December 2017, the Terminal app can now be downloaded for any iPhone or iPad devices for free, thanks to Louis D'hauwe.
This sandboxed command line interface for iOS offers tonnes of commands, a milestone that used to be available in jailbroken devices only or through the Mobile Terminal app via Cydia. However, users who are keen to get this level of functionality through the Terminal app should not expect too much.
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Apparently, Apple cannot provide an all-out access to the entire iOS system. Although limited, this is a good indication to start with as Apple is opening its doors to those who wish to experience at least the basic command line functionality on their handsets.
Terminal, once again, is not a full and open terminal experience with root access. Nevertheless, users can have access to the following commands.
- cat
- cd
- chflags
- chksum
- clear
- compress
- cp
- curl
- date
- du
- egrep
- fgrep
- grep
- gunzip
- gzip
- help
- link
- ln
- ls
- mkdir
- mv
- printenv
- readlink
- rm
- rmdir
- stat
- sum
- tar
- touch
- uname
- uncompress
- uptime
- wc
- whoami
Apart from being able to download and interact with the app, users can also view the project in an open-source capacity. Additionally, D'hauwe released the code in an open repository on GitHub under the MIT License so users can dive deeper into the app.
Download here the Terminal app for iOS from the App Store at no cost.
