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Introduction to SuperPuTTY

SuperPuTTY is a Windows application used primarily as a window manager and multi session manager for the PuTTY SSH Client. It allows you to embed PuTTY terminal instances inside of a windows form providing a better tabbed interface when multiple connections are used. Additionally SuperPuTTY has support for using pscp.exe to transfer files to and from a remote host. Local terminal sessions can be started with MinTTY, as well as RDP, PowerShell and other terminal applications.

SuperPuTTY does not do any ssh or terminal management itself since PuTTY does an excellent job of this.

License

Licensed under a liberal MIT/X11 License, which allows this program and source code to be used in both commercial and non-commercial applications. Complete text can be found in the License.txt file included with the download.

System Requirements

Optional

Quick Start

Download SuperPuTTY

Visit the Releases page to download the latest stable version of SuperPuTTY.

Source code can be downloaded from our Git repository.

More information on the source code and requirements can be found in our Developers document.

Install SuperPuTTY

SuperPuTTY as of v1.4.0.7 is available with an installer, look for the file namedSuperPuttySetup-vx.x.x.x.msi where the x's are replaced by the version number on the downloads page. This is the recommended way to install SuperPuTTY for most users.

SuperPuTTY is also available as a portable ZIP file, Simply unzip the files to a chosen location on your local disk. It is recommended to store it in a directory which maintains the version number of SuperPuTTY. For example, the directory could be named "C:\SuperPuTTY\SuperPutty-v1.4.0.7".

Depending on the version, the newly extracted files will look something like the following:

License.txt       
SuperPutty.exe         
README.txt        
SuperPutty.exe.config  
WeifenLuo.WinFormsUI.Docking.dll
log4net.dll
ReleaseNotes.txt  
SuperPutty.pdb         
themes

Getting Started

SuperPuTTY Interface

Hotkeys

The SuperPuTTY application allows you to define hotkeys to run a specific predefined task. By Default there are two preset hotkeys:

Other Hotkeys (cannot be changed by user)

Additional hotkeys can be configured to do certain tasks and can be found in the Tools->Options->Shortcuts menu option.

Predefined Task List

Windows and Toolbars

Sessions Toolwindow

Command Bar

If you need to specify a port for your connection, use the format HOSTNAME:PORT in the Host field.

Layout Toolwindow

Log Viewer

This opens a logging window useful for debugging or error reporting

Command Line Arguments

SuperPutty can be started and controlled from the command line. This allows SuperPutty to be started from other applications. Starting SuperPutty.exe --help from a command prompt will open a dialog showing valid command line arguments

Command Bar

The command bar is used to send commands to open sessions. You can also mask any input in this box by enabling Toggle Command Mask [CTRL+SHIFT+8] All keystrokes are passed through.

File Transfers

Layouts

Scripting

A scripting language to automate tasks such as logging in is scheduled to be added to a future release.

Script Reference

Coming Eventually

Script Examples

Coming Eventually

Logfile Configuration

By default SuperPutty is configured to create a logfile in %TEMP%/SuperPutty.log this can be modified or disabled all together by modifying the SuperPutty.exe.config file that is located in the installation folder of SuperPutty. See Issue 830 for some examples.

Configuration File / Settings Storage

SuperPuTTY's main settings file is by default located where the USERPROFILE environmental variable is pointed. It is called SuperPuTTY.settings. You should not directly edit this file but instead use the Tools->Options (F2 Key) to change settings.

If the SuperPutty.settings file does not exist it will be created in the USERPROFILE directory. It can be moved to the Folder where the SuperPutty.exe is located and will be loaded and saved to that location for a more portable solution.

From a Windows Command Prompt (cmd.exe) you can type the following command to view the folder location where the settings are located:

Will show something similar to this:

For advanced logging settings and application runtime settings there is a file called SuperPutty.exe.config in the application directory that allows runtime configuration of the SuperPuTTY Application. If you are familiar with Log4Net this is where the settings are. This file is for advanced users and in most cases will be left default.

Passwordless Login via Private Key

You can use a private key to securely login to a remote device such as a server, router or switch without having to enter a password.

  1. Use the PuttyGen.exe application to generate a public/private keypair
  2. Click the Generate button and follow the instructions on the screen to generate a public and private keypair.
  3. Optionally Set a passphrase by entering it in the Key passphrase field, and the confirm passphrase field (Note, if you do this you will be required to enter the passphrase every time you attempt to use this key to login to a remote device for added security).
  4. Click the Save public key button and save the public key to a file on your computer.
  5. Click the Save private key button and save the private key in a secure location on your computer. *Note: anyone with access to this file will be able to use it to gain access to any devices where you have installed the public key as described below.

Install your Public Key on a Unix host

  1. edit / create a file ~/.ssh/authorized_keys
  2. Add a single line to the file "ssh-rsa <the string of your key>"

Note: The Key typically starts with AAAA and ends with ==. So the line you added might look something like the following:ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAABJQAAAQEAz9P7Wi4HPWdB0zKY/E4b/ePJu408WzN/eW+BcUY0nUWMiHUDfHQyOUBCFtw/XwlQln6n9CKAF9fp8Xv6jqfqqicYvdUqzui/lflRBFZL+2Msg8M0tBni4uFfbfspRJD1fRL/LR8z0o9Cvt0cHitXZWpBie+b2+bknenL+Dy3KdevDtZSVTWO2zlHEht84TacaoslPSYrZUtIn5MMi3JWchZzsx5PF52XJCxq9hx7u3HUUKcJllOmoCQxLJeg3EDW04oHpNAmnh2bjTP8pCxRqJX9Tj+wJWy5SEhculEV1mJ+D1pbN5UgVe7Y2dgSM4eL0fX2rkBzs2fGHY6srxwW9Q==

Install your Public Key on a Cisco Router

Configure your SuperPuTTY Session to use the private key

  1. Create a new session, or edit an existing session
  2. For the Login Username put the login username of the account on the remote device you will be logging into. If you leave this blank, the private key will still work, however you will be required to enter the correct username under which the public key is installed.
  3. under Extra Arguments: -i path\to\private_key.ppk (the private key you saved in a previous step).

Known Issues

"This issue is being caused by TeamViewer's QuickConnect feature that adds an additional button to every windows toolbar for easy sharing. Adding putty.exe to exception list under the advanced settings solves the problem for me." (phil.pav)

External Articles