PuTTY

PuTTY is the free Windows SSH client. Download page.

Pageant

Pageant is an SSH authentication agent for PuTTY.

How to automatically load SSH keys on start-up

Create a shortcut to pageant.exe in Windows Startup-folder. Shortcut values:

Target: C:\path\to\putty\PAGEANT.EXE key-1.ppk key-2.ppk key-3.ppk
Start in: C:\path\to\ssh-key-directory

On Windows 7 the startup folder is located in:

C:\Users\<USERNAME>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

How to convert OpenSSH keys to PuTTY keys

On Windows:

1. Start puttygen.exe
2. Load an existing private key file: "Load"-button
3. Save the generated key: "Save private key"-button

On Ubuntu:

apt-get install putty-tools
puttygen <PRIVATE_KEY_FILE> -o keyname.ppk

Tutorials

• DigitalOcean - How to use Pageant