Support & FAQ
How to install, configure, and troubleshoot Shell Keyboard.
The current version is 1.2.0, released in October 2026.
How to enable it
- Open Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Add New Keyboard…
- Choose Shell Keyboard under Third-Party Keyboards.
- Open any app, tap a text field, then long-press the globe key, and pick Shell Keyboard.
Note: iOS provides no direct link to the Keyboards list from inside an app, so manual setup is unavoidable.
Keyboard settings
- Switch to Shell Keyboard with the globe key. The app’s Try it tab has a text field you can use.
- On iPhone, touch and hold the key with the small gear. On iPad, tap the gear key.
- Choose what you like, then tap ✕.
You’ll find Haptic feedback, Theme, Appearance and, on iPad, Layout. On iPad’s ShellKey layout there is no gear key: touch and hold the key with the small gear, as on iPhone.
Why not in the app? Shell Keyboard never asks for Full Access, and without it iOS keeps a keyboard and its app apart, so the settings live in the keyboard itself.
Troubleshooting
Arrows print ^[[A or garbage, or do nothing.
Tap the small terminal icon next to the arrow keys and switch between Normal and Application cursor mode. Most shells want Normal; vim, tmux, less and htop want Application.
Arrows don't work in my browser-based terminal (code-server, Jupyter, ttyd).
Not supported, and cannot be. A web page listening for keydown events will see nothing — an iOS keyboard extension can only insert text. No third-party iOS keyboard can do this — it's an iOS limitation.
The keyboard doesn't appear.
Confirm it's added in Settings (see above). Also, note that a connected hardware keyboard hides the software keyboard automatically.
I don't feel any haptic feedback.
iOS doesn't give keyboards access to the haptics API unless they request Full Access, which this keyboard never does. It uses a system sound instead. Toggle it: open the keyboard’s Settings (see above) and switch Haptic feedback.
How do I change the theme, or keep the keyboard dark?
Open the keyboard’s Settings (see above). Theme offers Shell, Ember, Glacier, Dusk, Moss, Void and High Contrast. Appearance follows each app (System), or keeps the keyboard Light or Dark everywhere. The app’s Install tab shows a preview of every theme.
How do I switch between the 60%, 75% and ShellKey layouts on iPad?
Open the keyboard’s Settings and choose under Layout. iPad starts in the 75% layout from version 1.2; your choice is kept. iPhone always uses the ShellKey layout.
My iPad shows the ShellKey layout even though I chose 60% or 75%.
When the app is very narrow, such as in Slide Over or a narrow Split View, the 60% and 75% layouts don’t fit, so the keyboard uses the ShellKey layout there. Make the app wider and your layout comes back.
How does Caps Lock work on the 60% and 75% layouts?
Tap caps to turn it on; letters type as capitals and the key stays lit. Numbers and symbols are unchanged, so 1 still types 1. Shift still types the symbol printed on each key, and letters stay capitals with Shift, as on a Mac.
How do I type Ctrl+C?
Tap ctrl, then c. The ctrl key arms for one key press. Double-tap it to lock it on.
Still need help?
Contact me directly and I'll do my best to help you out.
Email nguyen.nguyen@techartvn.com