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In my experience, iPad + keyboard works okay for coding if you SSH into a remote machine [1] and use a terminal-based text editor like emacs or vim. Alternative

In my experience, iPad + keyboard works okay for coding if you SSH into a remote machine [1] and use a terminal-based text editor like emacs or vim. Alternatively, you can use a Git client [2] to code locally but that prevents you from using your preferred text editor or the command line. In theory, Visual Studio Code for the Web [3] could work too though I haven’t tried that approach personally. I first experimented with iPad coding around 2013 and have tried it periodically since. I haven’t noticed a dramatic improvement in the coding experience over the past decade: Even today, iPad coding just “okay” and not great because laptops are still more versatile at windows management. [1]: https://termius.com/free-ssh-client-for-ipad https://termius.com/free-ssh-client-for-ipad [2]: https://workingcopyapp.com/ https://workingcopyapp.com/ [3]: https://vscode.dev/ https://vscode.dev/

anon373839 3y ago
Is it possible to do ssh tunneling in iOS? I haven’t tried to use my iDevices for any development tasks, but that would be a key threshold for me to find any utility in them.
- explaininjs 3y ago
  VSCode for the web has a built in tunneling service to connect to your desktop. If you don’t want to use vscode there are of course many ssh terminals available in the app store for you to.. vim from? emacs with? idk, you do you.
  - DennisAleynikov 3y ago
    seems like blink is the best SSH client on ios for now. its okay but I still like the android alternatives
  - anon373839 3y ago
    I wasn’t being clear. My question was whether iOS allows apps to open up arbitrary local ports (to forward them to the remote server over SSH). It looks like it is possible, albeit with a 10-minute time limit.
weikju 3y ago
There's also Blink [1] which includes a local shell (limited), ssh and mosh support, and comes with a local-first, but remote-dependent, vscode implementation. Works with vscode.dev, code-server (the coder.com and microsoft version), coder.com etc. Not free but a free TestFlight versions available if you accept to be a beta tester of sorts. I've had moderate success using it, but overall the code-server experience has been a bit lacking, in part due to languages I use, in part due to lots of software still assuming a local-first development environment (code-server/coder.com help with this by e.g. proxying http ports in your dev environment). A real IDE/code editor running on a MacBook is still way superior. [1] https://blink.sh https://blink.sh
- fuomag9 3y ago
  If you want to compile it yourself it’s free, as it’s under GPLv3 so you’re free to remove the license stuff if you wanted to
  - sweetjuly 3y ago
    To save anyone else the trouble, after walking through a fairly broken build process I discovered that the open source version is very much not in sync with the App Store version. I'm not sure exactly how old it is (the last real commit is a year old) but it lacks most of the current App Store functionality and has various issues with the terminal rendering incorrectly. Blink may have been FOSS at one point but it isn't anymore. The App Store version is $8 per month which is a bit steep for my needs since things like iSH [1] exist and are actually FOSS. [1] https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ish-shell/id1436902243 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ish-shell/id1436902243
  - weikju 3y ago
    No need to jump through so many hoops when you can just join their beta program and get it for free that way? (PS I joined the beta program AND paid for it because as an ssh/mosh client and occasional code editor, it was worth it)
jonasdoesthings 3y ago
> In theory, Visual Studio Code for the Web Yeah, it works okay. I've been using it with GitHub Codespaces[1] in the past, which is not only VSCode Web, but also allows you to run your code (and any terminal commands really) in GitHub's cloud. You get 60 2-CPU-core hours for free each month, it comes in pretty handy if you just want to quickly code something on the go, and don't have a real laptop / PC available. [1]: https://github.com/features/codespaces https://github.com/features/codespaces
rcarmo 3y ago
Actually, I can use vim on a-Shell (or Textastic, or Blink’s VS Code copy) to edit Working Copy repositories. There is a lot more flexibility than most people realize.
Cupprum 3y ago
I am surprised many people write about ssh into a server. Mosh[1] feels more responsive and it also supports longer sessions. [1] - https://mosh.org/ https://mosh.org/

anon373839 3y ago

Is it possible to do ssh tunneling in iOS? I haven’t tried to use my iDevices for any development tasks, but that would be a key threshold for me to find any utility in them.

explaininjs 3y ago
VSCode for the web has a built in tunneling service to connect to your desktop. If you don’t want to use vscode there are of course many ssh terminals available in the app store for you to.. vim from? emacs with? idk, you do you.
- DennisAleynikov 3y ago
  seems like blink is the best SSH client on ios for now. its okay but I still like the android alternatives
- anon373839 3y ago
  I wasn’t being clear. My question was whether iOS allows apps to open up arbitrary local ports (to forward them to the remote server over SSH). It looks like it is possible, albeit with a 10-minute time limit.

weikju 3y ago

There's also Blink [1] which includes a local shell (limited), ssh and mosh support, and comes with a local-first, but remote-dependent, vscode implementation. Works with vscode.dev, code-server (the coder.com and microsoft version), coder.com etc. Not free but a free TestFlight versions available if you accept to be a beta tester of sorts. I've had moderate success using it, but overall the code-server experience has been a bit lacking, in part due to languages I use, in part due to lots of software still assuming a local-first development environment (code-server/coder.com help with this by e.g. proxying http ports in your dev environment). A real IDE/code editor running on a MacBook is still way superior. [1] https://blink.sh https://blink.sh

fuomag9 3y ago
If you want to compile it yourself it’s free, as it’s under GPLv3 so you’re free to remove the license stuff if you wanted to
- sweetjuly 3y ago
  To save anyone else the trouble, after walking through a fairly broken build process I discovered that the open source version is very much not in sync with the App Store version. I'm not sure exactly how old it is (the last real commit is a year old) but it lacks most of the current App Store functionality and has various issues with the terminal rendering incorrectly. Blink may have been FOSS at one point but it isn't anymore. The App Store version is $8 per month which is a bit steep for my needs since things like iSH [1] exist and are actually FOSS. [1] https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ish-shell/id1436902243 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ish-shell/id1436902243
- weikju 3y ago
  No need to jump through so many hoops when you can just join their beta program and get it for free that way? (PS I joined the beta program AND paid for it because as an ssh/mosh client and occasional code editor, it was worth it)

jonasdoesthings 3y ago

> In theory, Visual Studio Code for the Web Yeah, it works okay. I've been using it with GitHub Codespaces[1] in the past, which is not only VSCode Web, but also allows you to run your code (and any terminal commands really) in GitHub's cloud. You get 60 2-CPU-core hours for free each month, it comes in pretty handy if you just want to quickly code something on the go, and don't have a real laptop / PC available. [1]: https://github.com/features/codespaces https://github.com/features/codespaces

rcarmo 3y ago

Actually, I can use vim on a-Shell (or Textastic, or Blink’s VS Code copy) to edit Working Copy repositories. There is a lot more flexibility than most people realize.

Cupprum 3y ago

I am surprised many people write about ssh into a server. Mosh[1] feels more responsive and it also supports longer sessions. [1] - https://mosh.org/ https://mosh.org/