The zero-backend SSH client for iPhone, iPad & Mac

Yes. Nothing in GateShell connects through us — with one narrow, opt-in exception for delivering server alerts, covered below. Your passwords and SSH private keys are stored exclusively in Apple's Keychain (hardware-encrypted, and may sync via your iCloud Keychain), while your server configurations are stored on-device using SwiftData and optionally synced via your private iCloud database. We never see, store, or transmit your credentials.

If you're a Pro subscriber, your servers and settings sync automatically via iCloud. Sign in on your new device with the same Apple ID and everything is right where you left it. Free tier users can use Quick Connect for ad-hoc access.

Yes! GateShell is a universal app that runs natively on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, built with SwiftUI and optimized for each platform. One feature is iOS-only: exposing server folders as locations in the Files app. On Mac, use the built-in SFTP browser for the same job.

Yes. Pick the folders you want to expose — /var/www or /home/deploy, say — and each appears as a location under Browse in the Files app on iPhone and iPad. Any app can then open, edit, and save those remote files directly over SFTP, with no sync folder on your device and no third-party cloud in the path. Only the folders you choose are reachable, not the whole filesystem. This is iPhone and iPad only; on Mac, use the built-in SFTP browser.

GateShell connects over standard SSH, so the terminal, SFTP, and port forwarding work with any SSH-enabled host, regardless of OS. The 20+ platform dashboards — Docker, databases, reverse proxies, security tools, and the other server-management features — are built around Linux tooling (systemctl, apt/dnf, ufw, and similar), which isn't present on Windows, macOS, or BSD hosts. Those dashboards are Linux-only for now.

The free tier includes full SSH terminal access with unlimited session time, 1 saved server, Quick Connect for ad-hoc connections, command history suggestions, the default Dark theme, server health checks, and biometric lock (Face ID / Touch ID).

GateShell Pro is $1.99/month or $19.99/year ($1.67/month). It unlocks unlimited servers, native Mosh, 2- and 4-pane terminals with input broadcast, SFTP, port forwarding, Git diff review, remote coding workspaces for installed Claude Code, Codex, and Gemini CLIs, guided Security Assistant fixes, snippet variables and multi-host execution, all 32 themes, Nerd and custom fonts, named keyboard layouts on iPhone and iPad, proxy support, iCloud sync, session logging, 20+ service dashboards, on-device AI, and more. The Security Assistant's read-only findings remain available for free.

GateShell is a full-featured SSH client for iPhone and iPad offering a terminal emulator with XTerm-256 colors, SFTP file transfer, port forwarding, and on-device AI — all with zero backend servers. It's built native with SwiftUI, stores credentials in the Apple Keychain, and syncs via iCloud with end-to-end encryption.

GateShell is a privacy-first alternative to cloud-based SSH clients. Unlike services that run backend infrastructure, GateShell has zero servers — your credentials stay on your device, your connections are direct, and your data is never collected. It offers a free tier with unlimited SSH sessions, and Pro is $1.99/month or $19.99/year — a fraction of what subscription SSH clients charge.

The core difference is where your credentials live. Termius stores and syncs your SSH keys and passwords through its own cloud vault on paid plans (Pro is $9.99/month, billed annually as $119.99/year). GateShell keeps everything in your device's Apple Keychain and syncs only through your personal, end-to-end-encrypted iCloud — we operate no servers and never see your data. GateShell also has a free tier with unlimited SSH session time, and Pro is $19.99/year.

Yes. Both apps support Mosh sessions that survive network changes. Blink remains a mature, open-source, keyboard-focused terminal. GateShell adds a native Mac app, a visual SFTP browser, 20+ server dashboards, remote folders in the iOS Files app, and on-device AI. GateShell also has a permanently free SSH tier; Mosh is included with Pro.

Install the optional GateShell Go agent or a compatible standard mosh-server, then allow UDP ports 60000–61000 through the host and network firewall. GateShell authenticates over your verified SSH connection, checks the encrypted UDP handshake before switching transports, and continues over SSH with a clear message if Mosh is unavailable or UDP is blocked.

No. Your SSH private keys and passwords are stored exclusively in your device's Apple Keychain, which is hardware-encrypted. If you enable sync, they travel only through your own iCloud Keychain with end-to-end encryption that not even Apple can read. Unlike SSH clients that sync through a vendor's cloud vault, GateShell runs no credential vault of any kind and never transmits or stores your credentials.

Yes, if you install the optional open-source agent on the server itself. It watches the machine locally and pushes to your device when a service stops, a disk crosses its threshold, or a cron job fails — with the app closed. It also keeps up to ninety days of metric history on your own disk, so you can see what a server was doing last Tuesday rather than only right now. Without the agent, GateShell works exactly as it always has, live over your direct SSH connection.

Only for this. Apple requires every push notification to be signed with the developer's key, so the agent on your server cannot hand one to Apple directly — it forwards the notification through a small relay we run, which signs it and passes it on. That relay keeps nothing: no device-token registry, no account, no notification history, and its delivery logs record neither your server names nor the alert text. Your credentials, terminal output, and files never touch it, and if you do not install the agent or leave alerts off, nothing reaches it at all. Every other part of GateShell — SSH, SFTP, Mosh, port forwarding — still runs straight from your device to your server with nothing of ours in between.

Download GateShell from the App Store, add your server (hostname, port, auth method), and tap to connect. GateShell is a universal app optimized for iPad with Split View, Stage Manager, and keyboard shortcut support — giving you a full desktop-grade terminal experience.

Yes. GateShell provides a full interactive PTY shell on iOS that works seamlessly with tmux. Connect to your server, start a tmux session, and pick it up later from any device — including your Mac or iPad via GateShell's universal app and iCloud sync.

Team collaboration features — including shared vaults, live terminal sharing, and role-based access — are on our roadmap. They'll be built on Apple's native frameworks (CloudKit, SharePlay) with zero backend servers, just like the rest of GateShell.