SSH on Windows: built-in tools and GUI clients

SSH is built into Windows now

Windows 10 and 11 include an OpenSSH client you can enable as an optional feature. Once it is on, ssh, scp and sftp work in PowerShell, Command Prompt and Windows Terminal, using the same commands and the same ~/.ssh/config file as macOS and Linux.

This is the simplest path if you are comfortable with the command line. Enable the feature, generate a key with ssh-keygen, copy the public key to the server, and connect. No third-party tools required.

• Enable via Settings, Apps, Optional features, Add a feature, OpenSSH Client
• Keys and config live in your user profile under .ssh
• The same keys and config work in WSL if you point SSH at them

Windows Terminal

Windows Terminal is the modern terminal host from Microsoft. It is free, supports tabs and split panes, and can run PowerShell, Command Prompt, OpenSSH and WSL side by side in one window. If you mainly want a better terminal, this alone solves a lot of problems.

What it does not do is manage hosts, store keys, or give you an SFTP browser. It is a terminal, not a client with a host list. That is the gap a GUI SSH client fills.

PuTTY and other Windows staples

PuTTY is still free, tiny and everywhere, and it remains a fine choice for a single quick session. Its saved sessions are the classic way Windows administrators kept host lists, and its key format (PPK) became a de facto standard on the platform.

The trade-off is age and ergonomics: no tabs, a dated interface, and a separate tool for SFTP. Other Windows options include MobaXterm, which bundles a terminal, X11 and file browsing, and WinSCP for file transfer. All are worth a look depending on what you do.

WSL as an SSH environment

The Windows Subsystem for Linux runs a real Linux distribution inside Windows. That means a full OpenSSH install, the same dotfiles and tools you use on a server, and an easy way to keep your SSH config identical across environments.

WSL is excellent for command-line work and scripting. It is less convenient if you want a graphical host manager, since WSL itself has no window of its own — you still need a terminal host to display it.

Where a GUI client fits

A GUI client matters once the command line stops scaling for you. When you connect to dozens of servers, you want the host list to remember every setting, the keys to be generated and stored for you, and files to be reachable without a second program. That is the point where one window beats switching between PowerShell, PuTTY and WinSCP.

• Many hosts, organised in groups and tags
• Generated and imported keys kept in one keychain
• SFTP browsing next to the terminal
• Jump hosts and forwarding rules saved per connection

TerminalX on Windows

TerminalX is a GUI client for Windows, macOS and Linux with a one-time price and no account. On Windows it installs like a normal app, stores everything in a local encrypted vault, and runs offline after the download. It is built on Tauri, so it uses the Windows WebView2 runtime the OS already provides instead of shipping its own browser engine — a smaller install and lower idle memory than an Electron app.

It handles the protocols Windows users ask for — SSH with password, key, certificate and agent auth, dual-pane SFTP, Telnet, Serial and Mosh — and it imports hosts from ~/.ssh/config, PuTTY, SecureCRT, MobaXterm and CSV. The PuTTY import is especially handy if your saved sessions and PPK keys have been building up for years.

One honest limit: TerminalX does not currently offer biometric unlock such as Windows Hello, and cross-device sync is not shipped. Auto-updates are also manual — the app checks a manifest and points you at the download page.

Windows-specific tips

• Know where your config livesOpenSSH reads your profile's .ssh folder; WSL has its own inside the Linux home directory
• Convert old PPK keysPuTTY keys can be exported to the standard OpenSSH format so any client can use them
• Use the agentthe Windows OpenSSH agent service can hold keys so you are not retyping passphrases
• Check jump host supportbastion access is common in Windows shops; make sure your client handles it