Do you code on an iPad? Why or why not? If you do, what code editor do you use?

I don’t have a laptop I usually code on my desktop, but I work from home so I get tired of sitting in the same place for so long. I’ve been doing it on my iPad and it seems to be doable!

I tried a few free apps for ipadOS. Some were okay, some were not. I’m willing to pay but I don’t want to spend money randomly on apps I don’t like.

CodeSpaces on GitHub seems to be the best option so far, but it’s a pay as you go structure and not a singular cost.

I liked the UI of Runestone, but many critical features are locked behind a paywall.

Replit seemed decent too but it seems very cloud focused and I already use GitHub.

Koder* seems like it has the most free access features but UI wasn’t intuitive and I couldn’t figure out how to type in a file if I switched pages and came back to my original file.

I hear Textastic is pretty good but side it’s paid with no trial period, I didn’t try it yet. I wanted to get some feedback before I started paying for anything.

Let me know what you use. Share your tips with Lemmy!

  • Tinkerings@beehaw.org
    2·
    1 year ago

    Have you looked into Remote Tunnels?

    You can control your Desktop VSCode remotely from an iPad browser. You’ll still likely need a keyboard and a trackpad or mouse will help a lot, but that’s basically the same situation as CodeSpaces.

    • w3dd1e@lemm.eeOP
      2·
      1 year ago

      Thanks! I hadn’t looked into this, but I think this would work, especially since mostly, I just want to write code from my living room or outside and not sit at my desk all day.

      I have a keyboard attachment for my iPad so this would probably work perfectly.

  • anotherlemmyuser
    1·
    1 year ago

    Lemmy share my story of trying to use ipad to code then decided not to. My reason back then was so I could code anywhere, and stay coding while in bed or living room or dining table. I can’t really remember the names of the apps I’ve used, but I have tried Replit, Codespaces, Google Colab, CodeSandbox, even thought of setting up code editor on vps, remote desktop…

    What I really ended up doing is… buy a tablet monitor with a friggin long hdmi cable

    My problem is solved, my butt is not stuck on the chair, my neck and shoulders thank me. My wallet will thank me soon, since the upfront cost is higher. I have the computing power of a desktop and my files are already there, not to forget better privacy as I do not have to pay for subscription services with my card and don’t involve cloud services. The only downside with this approach is I can’t code outside of the house without an internet connection.

    Laptops can achieve the same, but I find it heavier since I want to lie on my back. Sorry if this is out of topic, since you ask about ipad and I said I ended up using a monitor. Also, I am currently thinking of portable mini pc or windows tablet but it’s more expensive than a small monitor. Please do update if you found your solution, I might try it.