# blinksh/blink

Blink Mobile Shell for iOS (Mosh based)

Repository: https://github.com/blinksh/blink
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/blinksh-blink
Homepage: https://blink.sh
Language: Swift
License: GPL-3.0
License Family: copyleft
Topics: ios, ipad, ipados, mosh, shell, swift, terminal, vscode, scp, sftp-client, mobile
Last push: 2026-06-29T21:10:17+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 73/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 90, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3809, "days_push": 65, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 6912, forks 738 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:51.332003+00:00)

## What it is
Blink Shell is a professional, desktop-grade terminal emulator for iOS and iPadOS built on Mosh and SSH for stable, persistent remote connections. It includes a local shell with UNIX command-line utilities, SFTP/SCP file transfer, SSH agent and tunnel support, and deep customization with themes, fonts, and external keyboard shortcuts.

## Use cases
- ssh into servers from an ipad with a persistent session
- keep a terminal session alive on flaky mobile connections with mosh
- run remote development on vscode server or codespaces from ios
- transfer files to a server with scp or sftp from a phone
- manage unix servers remotely from an iphone or ipad
- use an ipad with a bluetooth keyboard as a portable coding terminal
- tunnel and jump through bastion hosts from mobile

## When to choose
- you need a reliable terminal on iOS/iPadOS that survives network changes and device sleep
- you want Mosh's local echo and roaming alongside full SSH features like agent forwarding and tunnels
- you develop remotely on cloud machines and want an all-day mobile workflow
- you need local UNIX tools, scripting, and Files.app integration on iOS

## When to avoid
- you need a terminal on desktop platforms like macOS, Windows, or Linux
- you want a fully offline local development environment on the device
- you need a free app without a subscription for the Build features
- you require full POSIX pipes and a complete Linux shell environment locally

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: active
- function: ssh, terminal-ui, cli, developer-tools
- domain: developer-tools, mobile-development, self-hosted
- platform: -
- tags: mosh, terminal-emulator, ipados, sftp, scp, remote-development, vscode-server, bluetooth-keyboard, shell, command-line, ios, mobile, swift

## Member repositories
- blinksh/blink (main) score 73

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:51.332003+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:41:27.987876+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/blinksh/blink (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:51.332003+00:00, sha 2114926f4a94)
  - homepage: https://blink.sh (fetched 2026-08-29T08:37:22.868711+00:00, sha 8cdc0be5c8eb)
  - site_page: https://docs.blink.sh (fetched 2026-08-29T08:37:22.871545+00:00, sha 0f9849cc88f4)
  - site_page: https://blink.sh/docs/advanced/advanced-mosh (fetched 2026-08-29T08:37:22.873760+00:00, sha dae6f75976e7)
  - site_page: https://blink.sh/docs/advanced/advanced-ssh (fetched 2026-08-29T08:37:22.875919+00:00, sha 03a2e4d1ec32)
  - site_page: https://blink.sh/docs/advanced/unix-roundup (fetched 2026-08-29T08:37:22.878332+00:00, sha ccea1729ddb4)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.