OpenCode on iPad: Run It in a Cloud Terminal

OpenCode runs on an iPad through Cosyra for iPad. Cosyra gives the iPad a cloud Linux workspace with OpenCode already installed. You tap the OpenCode shortcut, it opens in a terminal, and you can send a prompt straight away because OpenCode starts on a free model.

The steps and screenshots below are from the Cosyra 2.8.5 iPad app at iPad Pro 11-inch size on iPadOS 26, taken in October 2026. In this version the iPad app runs in portrait.

What you need

The Cosyra app. Core is $20 a month and Pro is $30. Eligible new users can start a 7-day free trial in the App Store app. Pricing has the details.
Nothing else to start. OpenCode is installed in the workspace and its default model is free.
Optional: a hardware keyboard. It makes long prompts quicker. The on-screen keyboard works too.

Open OpenCode on the iPad

Step 1

Install Cosyra on the iPad

Install the app and sign in. It opens on Terminals. On an iPad the whole Your shortcuts row is visible: Claude Code, Codex, Antigravity (shown as Gemini CLI in app 2.8.5 and earlier) and OpenCode.

The chip at the top right shows your workspace. It wakes when you open a terminal.

Cosyra Terminals screen on an iPad: Awake status, four agent shortcuts in one row and the Home project

Step 2

Tap the OpenCode shortcut

Tap OpenCode. The workspace wakes up and OpenCode opens across the full width of the screen. There is no install step and no sign-in screen.

The line under the prompt shows the agent and the model: Build and Big Pickle, a free model from OpenCode Zen.

OpenCode start screen in a full-width Cosyra terminal on an iPad, on the Build agent with the Big Pickle model

Step 3

Send a first prompt

Type a request and press return. We asked for a small Node HTTP server with a /health route, and for it to be started once as a check.

OpenCode wrote server.js, started it, called the route and got {"status":"ok"} back, in 22.5 seconds. The file, the command and the result all fit on one iPad screen.

OpenCode on an iPad showing a 24-line server.js, the command it ran and the health check output

Step 4

Connect your own provider

For real work you will want a stronger model. Type /connect and press return. OpenCode lists its providers, with the popular ones first:

OpenCode Zen and OpenCode Go
OpenAI, with a ChatGPT Plus or Pro plan or an API key
GitHub Copilot
Anthropic, with an API key
Google

Pick one and follow its sign-in. Then switch models with /models.

OpenCode Connect a provider dialog on an iPad with the Popular list and the full provider list

Why the iPad suits OpenCode

You can read the diff. A phone shows a few lines of code at a time. The iPad shows the whole file OpenCode just wrote.
A real keyboard works. Return, Esc and the arrow keys from a hardware keyboard go straight to OpenCode.
It is the same workspace as your phone. Start a task on the iPhone and pick it up on the iPad. The project row on Terminals shows the session's title.

Without a hardware keyboard, Cosyra's toolbar above the on-screen keyboard adds Esc, Tab, Ctrl, Alt and the arrow keys. The docs list every toolbar key.

Other ways to get OpenCode on an iPad

Both need a computer of your own that stays on:

opencode web in Safari. Run it on that computer and open its address from the iPad.
SSH from a terminal app. Connect to that computer and run opencode there.

With Cosyra the workspace is the computer. It sleeps when you are not using it and wakes when you open a terminal.

Questions

Can you run OpenCode on an iPad?

Yes. iPadOS has no Linux shell, so OpenCode cannot run on the iPad itself. Cosyra gives the iPad a cloud Linux workspace with OpenCode already installed. You tap the OpenCode shortcut and it opens in a terminal.

Does a hardware keyboard work?

Yes. Return, Esc and the arrow keys from a hardware keyboard reach OpenCode directly. Without one, Cosyra's toolbar above the on-screen keyboard has the same keys.

Do I need an API key to try OpenCode on an iPad?

Not for the first prompt. OpenCode opens on Big Pickle, a free model served by OpenCode Zen. To use Claude, GPT or Gemini models, run /connect and sign in to that provider or paste its API key.

Is it the same workspace as on my iPhone?

Yes. The workspace belongs to your account, not to a device. A session you start on the phone is there when you open Cosyra on the iPad.

What about opencode web in Safari?

It works if you already run OpenCode on a computer that stays on and is reachable from the iPad. You start opencode web there and open its address in Safari. Cosyra removes the always-on computer.

What does it cost?

Cosyra is a subscription: Core is $20 a month and Pro is $30 a month. Eligible new users can start a 7-day free trial in the App Store app. Model usage is separate and is billed by the provider you connect.

OpenCode on your phone, the same flow on an iPhone or Android phone.
OpenCode on iPhone and OpenCode on Android.
Claude Code on iPad and Codex CLI on iPad.
Claude Code vs OpenCode, if you are choosing between them.