Acode - Code Editor for Android and iOS

• Overview

Welcome to Acode Editor - a powerful and versatile code editing tool designed for mobile development. Android remains the primary product target, while this repository also contains the active iOS port and its native terminal runtime. Whether you're working on HTML, CSS, JavaScript, or other programming languages, Acode empowers you to code on-the-go with confidence.

• Features

• Edit and create websites, and instantly preview them in a browser.
• Seamlessly modify source files for various languages like Python, Java, JavaScript, and more.
• Built-in javascript console
• Enjoy multi-language editing support with easy management tools.
• Enjoy a large collections of community plugins to enhance your coding experience.
• Use the integrated terminal on Android and the ARM64 iSH-backed terminal on iOS.

• Installation

You can get Acode Editor from popular platforms:

• Project Structure

Acode/
|
|- src/   - Core code and language files
|
|- src/plugins/terminal/ - Shared terminal API plus Android and iOS runtimes
|
|- www/   - Public documents, compiled files, and HTML templates
|
|- third_party/ish-arm64/ - OpenMinis iSH ARM64 checkout used by the iOS build
|
|- platforms/ and plugins/ - Cordova-generated projects and installed plugin copies
|
|- utils/ - CLI tools for building, string manipulation, and more

• iOS Port and Terminal Direction

The iOS port uses Cordova for the application shell and native Objective-C bridges for platform capabilities. The supported terminal direction is OpenMinis userspace iSH running an Alpine aarch64 guest:

• Build with Meson kernel=ish and guest_arch=arm64 for both iOS device and simulator targets.
• Use third_party/ish-arm64 as the active OpenMinis checkout. The separate third_party/ish tree remains an x86 reference and is not the supported iOS runtime.
• Keep the FakeFS root format (meta.db plus data/) authoritative. Root filesystem imports and generated roots must preserve SQLite metadata, executable files, and ARM64 ELF binaries.
• Do not use the experimental ReleaseLinux/LinuxInterop path. Its ARM64 guest ABI is incomplete and it is not linked into the supported Acode iOS build.

iOS Terminal Transport

The terminal keeps the shared JavaScript API (start, write, resize, stop, and exec) while using a lower-overhead transport for interactive iOS sessions:

xterm.js -> Executor.spawnStream() -> local WebSocket -> IshWebSocketServer
         -> AcodeIshTerminal -> iSH PTY and guest shell

The native server binds to loopback on a per-session port, sends terminal output as binary frames, accepts input frames, batches small output writes, and handles resize control messages. JavaScript attaches xterm.js through AttachAddon and can reconnect to a live native session if the WebView socket closes. iOS background execution remains subject to platform scheduling and suspension limits.

iOS limitations and device signing

iOS does not provide an unrestricted background process model. A terminal that is left running while Acode is backgrounded may be suspended, have its WebView or WebSocket interrupted, or be terminated by the system. A native session can survive a short socket interruption and be reconnected while the app process is still alive, but a force-quit, process termination, or guest crash ends the session. Treat long-running terminal work as interruptible: save checkpoints, write important output to files, and keep Acode in the foreground for work that cannot be resumed safely. Use a remote host for jobs that must run unattended.

The final iPhone app is signed by the Apple Developer Team ID supplied at build time. It is not hardcoded in this repository. The iSH archive build disables code signing because it produces static libraries; signing is required when Cordova archives the Acode app. Set your own Team ID before a device build:

export IOS_TEAM_ID='<10-character-Apple-team-ID>'
bunx cordova build ios --debug --device -- \
  --developmentTeam="$IOS_TEAM_ID" \
  --automaticProvisioning

The Team ID is available in Xcode under Signing & Capabilities or in the Apple Developer account. It is not the Apple ID email address. The device must be paired, trusted, have Developer Mode enabled, and be registered with the team. See docs/LOCAL_DEVELOPMENT.md for the complete signing, installation, reconnect, and troubleshooting workflow.

Building the iOS Runtime

Install dependencies with Bun, then build the ARM64 iSH archives:

bun install
ISH_GUEST_ARCH=arm64 ./scripts/build-ish.sh

After changing the terminal plugin, refresh its generated Cordova copy before preparing or building iOS:

bunx cordova plugin remove com.foxdebug.acode.rk.exec.terminal
bunx cordova plugin add src/plugins/terminal
bunx cordova prepare ios

Generate a bundled root filesystem from a pinned Alpine aarch64 minirootfs with:

ISH_GUEST_ARCH=arm64 ./scripts/prepare-ish-rootfs.sh <alpine-aarch64.tar.gz> --sha256 <digest>

Local Development Quick Start

The iOS terminal workflow is a macOS/Xcode workflow. The shortest path from a fresh checkout to a local simulator run is:

# Clone the branch containing the iOS terminal streaming work.
git clone --branch feat/ios-terminal-ws-streaming --recurse-submodules \
  git@github.com:cyber-sight/Acode.git Acode
cd Acode
git submodule update --init --recursive -- third_party/ish-arm64

# Install JavaScript dependencies and baseline Cordova plugins.
bun install
bun run setup
bunx cordova platform add ios

# Build the ARM64 iSH archives and host CLI tools.
ISH_GUEST_ARCH=arm64 ./scripts/build-ish.sh
meson setup third_party/ish-arm64/build-host-arm64 \
  third_party/ish-arm64 -Dguest_arch=arm64 --buildtype=release
meson compile -C third_party/ish-arm64/build-host-arm64

# Generate the FakeFS root from a pinned Alpine aarch64 archive.
ISH_GUEST_ARCH=arm64 ./scripts/prepare-ish-rootfs.sh \
  <alpine-aarch64.tar.gz> --sha256 <digest>

# Refresh generated plugin/platform files, then build and run the simulator.
bunx cordova plugin remove com.foxdebug.acode.rk.exec.terminal
bunx cordova plugin add ./src/plugins/terminal
bunx cordova prepare ios
ARCHS=arm64 ONLY_ACTIVE_ARCH=YES CODE_SIGNING_ALLOWED=NO \
  bunx cordova run ios --debug --target='iPhone-16e'

To inspect the prepared rootfs without Cordova or Xcode, run the prebuilt host iSH binary directly:

ISH_BIN="$PWD/third_party/ish-arm64/build-host-arm64/ish"
ISH_ROOT="$PWD/src/plugins/terminal/src/ios/ish-rootfs"
"$ISH_BIN" -f "$ISH_ROOT" /bin/sh -c \
  'printf "arch=%s\\n" "$(uname -m)"; pwd; printf "rootfs-ok\\n"'

Expected architecture is aarch64. The CLI validates guest execution and FakeFS independently; it does not exercise the iOS Objective-C bridge, WebSocket reconnect, or xterm.js attachment.

The detailed build, rootfs, runtime, and acceptance checks are documented in docs/ISH_INTEGRATION.md. For a fresh clone, complete local build, and run commands, see docs/LOCAL_DEVELOPMENT.md. For the full iSH boot, FakeFS, PTY, WebSocket, reconnect, and failure-boundary explanation, see docs/ISH_RUNTIME.md. Cordova-generated copies under plugins/ and platforms/ios/ should be treated as derived output and compared with the canonical files under src/plugins/terminal/ when debugging propagation issues.

• Multi-language Support

Enhance Acode's capabilities by adding new languages easily. Just create a file with the language code (e.g., en-us for English) in src/lang/ and include it in src/lib/lang.js. Manage strings across languages effortlessly using utility commands:

bun run lang add
bun run lang remove
bun run lang search
bun run lang update

• Contributing & Building the Application

See CONTRIBUTING.md for detailed instructions.

• Contributors

• Developing a Plugin for Acode

For comprehensive documentation on creating plugins for Acode Editor, visit the repository.

For plugin development information, refer to: Acode Plugin Documentation

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