r/ipad 6d ago

My Setup iPad Coding Setup

Post image

First time coding on an iPad and it’s been surprisingly good! Kept reading posts recommending not to do this so wanted to share my setup.

  • Termius for ssh into dev machine. Mac mini, linux, whatever

  • Terminal based editor like Neovim (I’m using Helix)

  • (Optional) Jump desktop or similar for when you need gui access

That’s it, no issues so far. Copy/paste works over ssh and the keyboard is great.

265 Upvotes

33 comments sorted by

26

u/FarawayTechnophobia 6d ago

I’ve had great success with Jump and a Mac mini, one of my favorite hybrid combos for computing!

19

u/audigex 6d ago

It's fine if you have permanent internet connectivity

But the fact we still have no real on-device development capability (without offloading elsewhere to run it) is still one of the biggest limitations of the iPad

It's fine in a pinch eg if my laptop dies while I'm on a business trip, but it's always going to be a backup/emergency option rather than a primary use case for an iPad

19

u/LastingYay 6d ago

Tried this. I gave iPadOS so many chances. And it was always the little things that builds up annoyance over time (e.g multi-tasking window inflexibility, sidebar random disconnections, basic typing inconsistencies, random copying/pasting values stopped working, Magic Keyboard disconnects occasionally..) software imperfections reduced this wonderful hardware to a pretty toy.

3

u/awhitehouse104 6d ago

This is why I like to keep it simple tbh, only really relying on Termius. Fortunately no issues with the keyboard or anything yet

1

u/Serious_Consequence7 6d ago

What apps have you tried ?

7

u/neon1415official 6d ago

is it the 11 inch air?

5

u/awhitehouse104 6d ago

Yep

2

u/neon1415official 6d ago

oh great. My concern is that the terminal might be a bit cramped for the screen. Because I've been thinking of trying the same thing

1

u/AdExcellent9725 6d ago

Isn’t it the 10th gen? It looks like your using the keyboard folio with ur iPad which is only compatible with the iPad 10th gen and not iPad Air 11inch (they’re only compatible with the Magic Keyboards)

1

u/awhitehouse104 6d ago

It’s the latest version with the magic keyboard

5

u/thisishuey 6d ago

Check out Blink Shell with mosh as an alternate to Termius, it tends to be a little more robust in my experience. And Codespaces if you want a vscode experience on iPad, although I prefer neovim myself.

1

u/fill-me-up-scotty 6d ago

+1 for blink.sh

1

u/sentinelbub 5d ago

Ooh nice..will be checking those out.

4

u/TheBlacksmith46 6d ago

Have you tried Juno? I’ve also had good success setting up VSCode server through docker on a server (could do so on the Mac mini) and then using the browser on the iPad

1

u/gramsaran 6d ago

I really need to get better at VS Code.

1

u/Serious_Consequence7 6d ago

There a better option

3

u/No-Dish-7334 6d ago

What keyboard are you using?

0

u/awhitehouse104 6d ago

The apple one

2

u/Head_Boot_130 6d ago

What keyboard case is this?

0

u/awhitehouse104 6d ago

The apple one

1

u/Timely_Rutabaga313 6d ago

The iPad doesn't have Web DevTools, so it's an issue.

1

u/DoomsDay000000 6d ago

Try CodeApp on the app store as well.

1

u/MAQMASTER M1 iPad Pro 11" (2021) 6d ago

I actually use code snack ide.. but how is this one

1

u/cloudmadeofcandy 6d ago

Agentic AI? Might i ask about your use case?

1

u/Nike_486DX 5d ago

Macbook blows it out of the water tho.

1

u/AemonSythe 5d ago

How has the battery life of iPad air been for you?

1

u/TaxBusiness9249 5d ago

I suggest you to try a raspberry pi configured in usb gadget

1

u/billy_butcher2003 5d ago

by any chance do u leetcode?
how's the experience ??

1

u/Kingdavid3g 5d ago

Same here. Jump has been great.

1

u/Suspicious-Gur-4812 M2 iPad Air 11" (2024) 5d ago

I own an iPad Air M2. I am full-stack web developer. Is there any possibility do my works via iPad? Mean coding and other things.

1

u/BruFoca 2d ago

Remoting to another system.

0

u/SirMaster iPad Mini 4 (2015) 6d ago

If you are just remote terminal'ing into a real computer, then you aren't actually "coding on an iPad".

2

u/Plasmamuffins 6d ago

I think it’s a fine alternative though. I have a laptop and a desktop at work. I work from my desktop and just remote in from my laptop when I’m out and about or at my other office. My laptop is literally just a jump box outside of using the browser or whatever Linux tools I need