The desktop that expires in a week

The startup idea

The problem

The iPad has no shell, and the App Store will not host a tool that downloads programs.

Who would pay for this?

Primary

Someone with an M1 iPad who already wanted a terminal and will sideload.

Secondary

A person who will attach StikDebug rather than live in the slow interpreter.

Early adopter

One shell, the 7-day line, and the apps the page says are missing.

How could it make money?

Possible models. Nothing here is a claim about what LinPad charges.

• No subscription. GPLv3.
• The site says no app telemetry.
• A free Apple ID is the install, and it expires.

What would the MVP look like?

1. A terminal on the iPad.
2. The sideload steps.
3. The 7-day expiry.
4. The line that Docker is not there.

How to validate the idea

• Ask five people to reopen the app on day eight.
• If it is gone, the expiry was the product problem.
• Do not promise App Store review.

How to differentiate

• A tiling desktop, not only a shell.
• GPLv3, and a named fork of iSH.
• Fast mode is optional and slower without it.
• Do not pretend it replaces iPadOS.

Product that inspired this idea

Vali's post says LinPad OS is Linux for iPad. VS Code, a terminal, git, Python, Node.js, and Claude Code listed in the Store. Free, open source, and pre-release. The site says Alpine, GPLv3, a fork of iSH, on an iPad with M1 or newer and iPadOS 17 or later. It is sideloaded with your own Apple ID. The FAQ says it will not go on the App Store, because it generates native code and downloads executables. A free Apple ID signature expires after 7 days. Without StikDebug the programs run on an interpreter and are several times slower. The app has no analytics. Docker, Steam, and x86 games are not supported. The post does not say sideload, or the 7-day expiry. This page did not install it.

Posted by @AmbsdOP. Watch the original launch. No separate product site is listed unless the post itself is the source.

• ipad
• linux

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