WORKS WITH HERDR · CLAUDE CODE · CODEX · OPENCODE

Command your agent herd from your iPad.

ShadowTerm is an SSH client for iPad, with Mosh for iOS, and the same terminal app for iPhone. It plugs into Herdr over MCP. Kick off your coding agents on the desktop, then watch, review, and grab the keyboard from the couch.

Free to download · Try before you pay
Download Free See how it works

Universal for iPad, iPhone & Apple Watch · Mac available free

herdr · main-herdMCPclaude-coderunningcodexrunningopencodeneeds youAllow: git push origin main?yesnoclaude-code✓ 3 files changed, tests pass

THE WORKFLOW

From desktop to couch in three moves

Start the work where it runs. Watch it and steer it from wherever you are.

Herdryour desktop · 4 agentsMCPthe glueShadowTermiPad · iPhone · Watch
01

Start the herd

Launch Herdr on your desktop and set your agents loose — Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, each in its own persistent tmux session.

02

Open the session over MCP

In ShadowTerm, just ask. Your agent opens the live Herdr session through MCP — no SSH gymnastics, no reconnecting.

03

Steer from your iPad

Every pane updates in real time. Review diffs, approve the risky commands, or take the keyboard the second an agent needs a human.

ENHANCED HERDR COMPATIBILITY

The stuff other terminals don’t do with Herdr

ShadowTerm knows when Herdr is on the other end, and acts like it.

Copy & paste works both ways

Select text in an agent's pane and copy it. Paste a link, a log, even an image back in. Most terminals give you one direction inside a multiplexer. You get both.

Click on it, it happens

Tap an agent and its pane is on your screen. Click a link, it opens. On Mac, click an agent and you jump straight to it. No hunting for the right tab.

Shortcuts made for Herdr

Split, zoom, switch pane, next tab, sidebar, detach, all on a key row that speaks to Herdr directly. Swipe with one finger for arrows, two fingers sideways to change Herdr tabs.

A panel that knows Herdr is there

Connect to a machine running Herdr and the AI Agents panel shows up on its own. Every agent, what it is doing, and what it is waiting on, next to your terminal.

Lose Wi-Fi, keep your place

Drop off the network, walk to another room, come back. The same pane is still there, redrawn and ready. No reconnect button, no blank screen.

Keys that stop typing garbage

Prefix chords from tmux or screen no longer leak stray characters into your agent. Hold a key and it repeats, like a real keyboard.

Long links open in one piece

A URL that wraps across three rows opens and copies as one link. Other terminals hand you the first row and leave you to guess the rest.

Your agent taps you on the shoulder

The pane flashes when an agent needs you. A Live Activity sits on your Lock Screen and Dynamic Island. Answer it from there without opening the app.

Feels like a real terminal, because it is

Pinch to zoom, double-tap to select, scroll with a wheel or a swipe, point with a trackpad. The Herdr pane uses the same engine as a full SSH tab.

WHY IPAD-FIRST

A cockpit, not a compromise

Other terminals treat the tablet as a shrunken phone. We built for the big screen first, then scaled down.

Full-size panes

See every agent at once. The whole herd fits on one screen instead of one cramped pane at a time.

Real keyboard, real windows

Magic Keyboard shortcuts, a custom key row, and resizable iPadOS windows for true multitasking.

Mosh for iOS keeps it alive

Roam between Wi-Fi and cellular without dropping a session. Your agents keep running while you move.

iPhone in your pocket and Apple Watch on your wrist for quick glances and approvals.

Hosts screen with five SSH and Mosh hosts as cards, each with TTY, SFTP and monitor shortcuts

Built to run the herd

A real terminal, an agent control plane, a network toolkit, and server monitoring — in one iPad app.

Drive Herdr over MCP

  • Open sessions on command – Your agent attaches the live Herdr session for you
  • See the whole herd – List every agent and its state at a glance
  • Read & respond – Stream live output and send input straight to any pane
  • Approve from anywhere – Clear permission prompts without touching the desktop

An SSH client for iPad

  • A terminal app for iPhone – iPad-first design, scaled down for iPhone and Apple Watch
  • SSH & Mosh – Resilient connections that survive network changes
  • Ghostty engine – Fast, faithful xterm-256color emulation for tmux and Herdr
  • iPadOS windows – Resizable, floating windows and a custom key row

Security & Auth

  • Multi-identity management
  • SSH key pairs support
  • iOS Keychain integration
  • Smart auto-authentication

Live Monitoring

  • CPU, memory & network stats
  • Disk I/O & process tracking
  • Nvidia GPU monitoring
  • Zero setup – reads /proc directly

Productivity

  • Snippets with variables & pickers
  • Batch execution across servers
  • Port forwarding (local & remote)
  • Modern SFTP file manager

16 Themes

  • Cyberpunk, Synthwave, Vaporwave
  • Matching terminal colors
  • Nerd Font support
  • Custom font sizing

Everywhere Sync

  • iCloud sync across devices
  • Background SSH connections
  • Custom keyboard builder
  • Home Screen widgets

Developer Tools

  • Multi-tab sessions
  • Session persistence
  • Quick access panels
  • Export/import configs

Network Tools

  • Ping, DNS, traceroute & subnet calc
  • Port scan, LAN & Bonjour discovery
  • TLS/HTTP check, IP info (RDAP) & WHOIS
  • Wake-on-LAN & live network map
  • Remote dig/curl/openssl on your hosts

Files App

  • Browse your servers in the Files app
  • Open & copy files out over SFTP
  • Read-only, per-host opt-in
  • Manage exposed hosts from Settings
Featured Integration

Claude Code on iPad

Approve permissions and get notifications from your iPhone while Claude Code works on your projects.

Remote Notifications

Real-time alerts when Claude needs approval

Approve from Anywhere

Respond directly from notification banner

Dynamic Island

Live Activity on Lock Screen

Siri Shortcuts

"Hey Siri, check Claude permissions"

Geofence Auto-Connect

Auto-start polling at work locations

Session Templates

Quick start with tmux configs

Quick Install

view source

Set up Claude Code hooks with a single command. The installer asks one question: action (default) notifies only for questions and permission approvals. all also notifies when a session starts, ends, or the AI stops. Step-by-step notes are in the support and setup guides.

curl -fsSL https://shadowterm.app/install.sh | bash

Install Options

--url URLntfy server URL
--topic TOPICntfy topic name
--token TOKENAuth token (optional)
--timeout SECSPermission timeout
--notify-mode MODEaction or all. Skips the question.
--set-notify MODEFlip an existing install. No reinstall.

action keeps questions and permission approvals. all also sends session start, session end, and AI stopped.

curl -fsSL https://shadowterm.app/install.sh | bash -s -- --set-notify action

Uninstall

Remove ShadowTerm hooks from Claude Code:

curl -fsSL https://shadowterm.app/install.sh | bash -s -- --uninstall
Available now · Full-featured and free

ShadowTerm is free on Mac

A free native macOS terminal with Telnet, rlogin, serial consoles, TN3270, and ZMODEM. Get tiled workspaces, an AI helper with autonomy controls, and your hosts synced from iPad over iCloud.

Get ShadowTerm for Mac free

Every protocol

SSH, Mosh, Telnet, rlogin, serial, TN3270

Tiled workspaces

Terminal, editor, preview & AI side by side

AI helper

Explain output, draft commands, agent mode

iCloud sync

Hosts, identities & snippets shared with iPad & iPhone

Common questions

SSH on iPad and iPhone, Mosh, Claude Code, the Mac app, and privacy.

Is ShadowTerm an SSH client for iPad and a terminal app for iPhone?

Yes. ShadowTerm is free to download on the App Store for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, and it requires iOS 26 or later. SSH passwords and keys are stored in the iOS Keychain. Secure Enclave keys sign with Face ID and never leave the device.

How does Mosh for iOS behave when the network drops?

Mosh survives network drops, backgrounding, and sleep. Jump hosts, labeled Connect Via, are one hop, and Mosh does not run through a jump. SSH agent forwarding is SSH only and is confirmed each time you use it.

How do I use Claude Code on iPad?

Run curl -fsSL https://shadowterm.app/install.sh | bash on the machine where Claude Code runs. The installer asks one question: action (the default) notifies only for questions and permission approvals, and all also notifies when a session starts, ends, or the AI stops. You can approve or deny Claude Code from the iPhone, including always-allow and accept-edits. Setup details are in the support and setup guides.

Is there a ShadowTerm Mac app?

ShadowTerm for Mac is available now, full-featured and free, from the Mac App Store. An optional unsandboxed version is available on GitHub through the Mac download page. Hosts, identities, snippets, and port forwards sync over iCloud with iPad and iPhone. The optional unsandboxed GitHub build is Developer ID signed and notarized by Apple. Third-party AI provider charges still apply.

Does the app collect usage data?

No. ShadowTerm does not use analytics or telemetry, and it does not collect usage data. SSH and Mosh sessions connect only to servers you choose. The privacy policy describes that in full.

Ready to take the reins?

Run your agents on the desktop, command them from your iPad. Free to download on iPad, iPhone & Apple Watch — try before you pay.

Download on the App Store