apt-get

FATAL -> Failed to fork.

This is an error you may encounter while doing an apt-get update from the command line and having too many sources in your sources.list.d directory. This is not a problem with cydia or apt in general but is due to the low amount of memory the iPhone has and the way apt works. apt forks a process for every source listing which can be problematic on the iPhone. This fix is a simple apt.conf that will need to be placed in /private/etc/apt the following is what the configuration file should look like 

Acquire {
  Queue-Mode access
};

Once that is added to the /private/etc/apt directory with the correct permissions (if user mobile then should be set by default) apt will work as expected. Two ways to create this file 1) use a text editor directly on the iPhone or 2) upload it via ssh.

Mobile Terminal

This section is incomplete.

The Mobile Terminal application provides terminal emulation from the iPhone. Basic usage is easy; simply type commands as you would at Mac OS's terminal. Some shortcuts:

  • Either a short or a long upward swipe is the up-arrow (history back) function.
  • A short downward swipe is the down-arrow (history forward) function.
  • A long downward swipe acts as the Enter key.
  • A long backward/forward swipe goes to the beginning/end of the current line (as home/end).
  • A short backward/forward swipe moves forward one character (as left/right arrow).
  • A double tap shows/hides the on-screen keyboard.
  • Tap and hold shows a shortcut menu (to pick one, move to your selected button and release).

You can enter control characters either by typing the bullet key (first do .?123, then #+=, it's the black circle right above backspace) before your char (bullet-C is ctrl-C, etc.), or by swiping short down-right before the correct character. A shortcut for control-C is up-right. You can enter escape (for alt keys) by swiping short up-left, and tab (for completion) by swiping short down-left. A complete list of swipe controls is below.

Type (short/long)DirectionAction
shortup-rightctrl-C
shortup-leftescape
shortdown-rightctrl-
shortdown-lefttab
shortsingle up/down/left/rightarrow keys
longuphistory back (up-arrow)
longdownenter
longlefthome
longrightend