How to Install and Use PuTTY on Ubuntu

PuTTY is a popular terminal emulation software that is used to make remote connections to servers over the SSH protocol. Ubuntu includes its terminal, which already has “SSH” (Secure Shell) capabilities, but not everyone likes working on the command line. That’s where PuTTY comes in.

In this tutorial, we will discuss how to install PuTTY on Ubuntu and also look at either the GUI way or the command-line way of installing PuTTY on Ubuntu.

What is Putty?

PuTTY is a user-friendly terminal emulator that supports SSH, Telnet, and Rlogin protocols, allowing you to connect to remote systems. Its simple graphical interface makes it ideal for beginners, Windows users, or anyone who prefers a visual way to manage and organize remote sessions. On Ubuntu, PuTTY can be used to connect to your server securely and efficiently.

PuTTY is a feature-rich terminal emulator for the SSH, Telnet, and Rlogin network protocols, which can be used to connect to your server remotely on an Ubuntu desktop system.

Why Use PuTTY on Linux?

If you’re a system administrator or developer who’s used to the terminal or command line on Linux, then you might often find yourself right at home using SSH to connect to the remote machines. But let’s assume that you would rather use a graphical tool to manage your remote connections. That’s where PuTTY comes to the rescue.

The light and straightforward SSH and Telnet client allows you to remotely connect to your servers. Linux already comes with some SSH tools, but some may find the graphical user interface of PuTTY more convenient, especially those who are used to Windows.

A great thing about PuTTY is that it can save your sessions for you easily. You can have that saved, so you don’t have to configure this ever. Instead of messing around with configuration files, you save that on the PuTTY GUI. This makes it great for those who frequently change servers.

PuTTY also supports other features such as raw socket connections, serial ports, and X11 forwarding. These features are handy if you’re working on graphical applications from a remote server. They can be very time-saving when you’re doing networking stuff or debugging.

In short, while Linux users already have the command-line SSH utilities they need, PuTTY offers a way to manage your remote connections that simply looks and feels a lot more pleasant. Particularly to users who are more comfortable with graphical software, or who need some additional features such as serial communication.

PuTTY’s Remote Access Capabilities

PuTTY is a favorite tool of developers and system administrators when it comes to managing remote systems. Locate a Machine, runs the scripts from your local machine into a remote Linux server, and you can even launch graphical user interface (GUI) applications remotely. Furthermore, PuTTY also allows secure file transfers between local and remote systems.

It also enables you to run commands on a remote machine, mirror a remote desktop to your local screen, and secure login sessions. If you are a desktop user and want a graphical interface, by doing X11 forwarding, you can open and operate GUI-based applications on your computer on a remote server.

Method 1: Install PuTTY on Ubuntu via APT Command

It offers a comfortable look and features, such as session management, the ability to create keyboard mappings, and tools for creating SSH keys.

Let’s install PuTTY via CLI:

Step 1: Update Ubuntu Before PuTTY Installation

To begin with, download a cached copy of the latest version of every package. It’s getting your system ready for any subsequent package installation or upgrading:

sudo apt update 

Step 2: Install PuTTY via APT Command

In this step, install the PuTTY SSH client and its tools, PSCP and PSFTP:

sudo apt install putty putty-tools

Step 3: Verify Installation

Now shows what version of PuTTY SSH and Telnet client is installed on your system:

putty --version

Step 4: Launch PuTTY 

And finally, let’s enter the command below to launch PuTTY SSH Client Graphical Interface:

putty

Step 5: Connect to a Remote Server

Now, initiates a PuTTY session to the indicated hostname (or IP address) as the optional user. The syntax is given below:

putty [user@]hostname

Attempts to log in as root via Putty to server 192.168.1.100:

sudo putty [email protected]

So that is how you can install PuTTY on Ubuntu using the terminal.

Method 2: Install PuTTY on Ubuntu via GUI 

All in all, PuTTY is a must-have utility for system administrators, developers, or anyone who wants to connect to remote systems in a fundamentally modified way. For the graphical installation of PuTTY, you can follow these steps:

Step 1: Open Ubuntu Software Center

You can search for Ubuntu Software in the Activities menu, or click its icon in the dock:

Step 2: Search for PuTTY

After that, just write “PuTTY” in the search bar, and you should be able to find its package:

Step 3: Install PuTTY

After you’ve clicked on the PuTTY entry, press the “Install” button:

Step 4: Launch PuTTY 

From within the application launcher, click the PuTTY icon: Activities > Show Applications > PuTTY SSH Client:

Some of the customizations that you can make are to save and load your session configurations, change the terminal settings, or enable X11 forwarding for running graphical applications on a remote server using PuTTY:

So, these are some of the possible methods of installing PuTTY on Ubuntu.

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Conclusion

PuTTY is an easy-to-use terminal emulator on Ubuntu, ideal for Windows users and those familiar with command-line tools. It supports session management, X11 forwarding, and multiple connection protocols, making it a reliable choice for developers, system administrators, and secure network communications. In this post, we covered both CLI and GUI methods to install PuTTY on Ubuntu.

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