Apple has surprisingly approved the Linux environment iSH Shell for distribution in the App Store, so that the app can now be downloaded directly to iPhones and iPads. iSH is based on Alpine Linux and contains a number of common command line programs such as wget, curl and Vi, running Linux software in the app is made possible via x 86 emulation.

iSH can also be integrated into Apple’s preinstalled files app via a file provider extension, allowing access to its own file system – and copying files to other iOS apps.

iSH so far only outside the app store The APK package manager had to be due will be removed from Apple’s restrictions, it says on the Github page of the project, but a subsequent installation is easily possible. The open source project has been around for almost two years, but not yet in the App Store. Interested parties previously had the option of compiling the app themselves and installing it via sideloading – or using the AltStore sideloading tool to bring it to the iPhone or iPad. iSH Shell was also distributed via Apple’s Testflight beta test system, but the number of possible users remains limited.

The Linux shell is free and is already running from iOS 11. The iSH Shell can only be downloaded from the age of 17 because it offers “unrestricted access to the web” according to Apple’s descriptive text.

Reload the code at Apple actually undesirable Whether Apple consciously or inadvertently allowed the iSH Shell remains open for the time being – the app is currently still available. Apple’s app store rules actually include the ban on apps from “downloading, installing or executing” new code if this results in functions