What PuTTY does
PuTTY is a free, open-source terminal emulator and network client for Windows, released under the MIT license and maintained by Simon Tatham. It provides terminal access to remote systems over SSH, Telnet, Rlogin, and raw TCP socket connections, and also supports direct serial port connections for working with embedded devices, routers, and network equipment through a serial console. SSH is the most common protocol used with PuTTY, and the client supports both password-based and public-key authentication. The built-in session manager lets users save and reload connection profiles — each profile stores the host address, port, preferred protocol, terminal settings, and any associated keys, so returning to a frequently used server requires only selecting a saved session name. X11 forwarding allows graphical Linux applications to be displayed on the local Windows desktop, and SSH port tunneling supports forwarding arbitrary TCP traffic through an encrypted SSH channel. Both features are configured through PuTTY's settings dialogs without requiring command-line arguments. The PuTTY installer bundles several companion utilities: PuTTYgen generates and converts SSH key pairs in formats including RSA, DSA, ECDSA, and Ed25519; Pageant acts as an SSH authentication agent that holds decrypted keys in memory so connected sessions authenticate without repeated passphrase prompts; PSCP and PSFTP provide command-line file transfer over SCP and SFTP respectively; and Plink offers a scriptable command-line SSH client for use in batch jobs and automation scripts. PuTTY is also available as a standalone portable executable that runs directly without installation, which suits USB toolkits and restricted corporate machines. The offline installer on this page is sourced directly from Simon Tatham's official distribution and installs without requiring an internet connection. Always download PuTTY from the official publisher at the.earth.li to avoid third-party bundles.
