DEV Community

Cover image for Setting up OpenSSH in Windows Terminal
Victor Sabare
Victor Sabare

Posted on

Setting up OpenSSH in Windows Terminal

OpenSSH is a free and open-source tool for securely connecting to remote servers. It is commonly used for remote command-line and remote command execution, but it can also be used to transfer files. In this tutorial, we will show you how to set up OpenSSH in Windows Terminal.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have the following:

  • A computer running Windows

  • An internet connection

Step 1: Download the OpenSSH files

Go to the official OpenSSH website and download the latest release of the OpenSSH files. Save the downloaded file to a convenient location on your computer.

Step 2: Extract the files

Extract the downloaded files to a folder on your computer, such as "C:\OpenSSH".

Step 3: Install the OpenSSH service

Open a new terminal window and navigate to the OpenSSH folder you just created. Then, run the following command to install the OpenSSH service

install-sshd.bat
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Step 4: Start the OpenSSH service

Start the OpenSSH service by running the following command:

net start sshd
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Step 5: Add the OpenSSH folder to the system path

To be able to use the OpenSSH client from any location, you will need to add the OpenSSH folder to the system path. To do this, run the following command:

setx PATH "%PATH%;C:\OpenSSH"
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Step 6: Generate an RSA key pair

Run the following command to generate an RSA key pair for secure communication:

ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Follow the prompts to choose a location for the key pair and set a passphrase.

Step 7: Add your RSA key to the ssh-agent

Run the following command to add your RSA key to the ssh-agent:

ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_rsa
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Step 8: Connect to a remote server

You can now use the OpenSSH client to connect to remote servers. For example, you can use the following command to connect to a server with the hostname "example.com" using the default port (22):

ssh username@example.com
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

That's it! You have successfully set up OpenSSH in Windows Terminal. You can now use the ssh client to securely connect to remote servers from your Windows machine.

Top comments (0)