Free coding app
Terminal Emulator: Shell/CMD is a free coding app by Jack Palevich. This emulator allows you to write Linux command line shell code directly on your Android device. It can handle multiple windows, supports several languages, and offers similar shortcuts to its desktop counterparts. The best thing about this app is that it's a community project, so it's entirely free with no ads or in-app purchases.
If you have a knack for coding and need more apps to code on your Android device, you can try Terminal Emulator for Android, PowerApps, or HTML Editor if you're a web developer.
User interface
Terminal Emulator: Shell/CMD has a simple user interface, and you'll only have the commands you type and the keyboard at the bottom. However, you can customise your experience to make it more visually comfortable.
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Additionally, you’re able to adjust the font size, and text colours, choose the control key on your keyboard, specify shell command lines, or set an initial command when you start the app. The keyboard uses UTF-8 text, meaning you can use English, Chinese, Greek, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Thai, Arabic and more. It can even handle multiple windows, making it even more useful.
Coding features
This is a complete Linux terminal emulator, so you can enter the same commands. Still, the creator recommends using "Busy Box" or "Debian chroot" commands. These commands let you enter more complex lines of code and go around an Android device’s limitations.
However, the developer mentions some limitations. It won't help you root the device or change the IMEI, and you may get a 505 error with Android 5.0, if another app has the same permissions.
Useful app for coding on Android
As Android devices don't have a built-in coding interface, Terminal Emulator: Shell/CMD allows you to start coding conveniently. You can code in English, Chinese, Russian, and many other languages. You can customise the interface by changing the colour of the text, its size and the colour of the highlights.
On Android, Shell commands are limited, but by entering the proper commands, like Busy Box, you'll be able to go around these limitations and unlock the full power of your device. Of course, this app will be recommended for those with coding experience because some commands can be risky if you don't know what you're doing.
