PuTTYgen for Windows

Purpose and features

PuTTYgen is a free utility for creating SSH key pairs (public and private keys). It is distributed with the PuTTY suite but is also available as a standalone tool. PuTTYgen supports commonly used public-key algorithms and focuses on securing communications and enabling digital signatures. Keys are produced in PuTTY’s native PPK format by default, but the program can export keys to other formats when needed.

Creating a new key pair

Follow these steps to generate keys with PuTTYgen:

1. Open the PuTTYgen program.
2. Click the Generate button in the dialog to begin creating a new key pair.
3. Enter a secure passphrase into the Key passphrase and Confirm passphrase fields to protect the private key.
4. Use the Save public key and Save private key buttons to store the generated files on disk.
5. Copy the public-key text shown in the Public key box (it typically begins with ssh-rsa) to your clipboard (Ctrl+C) and paste it where required.

Deploying the public key

You can put the generated public key into systems that accept SSH keys in one of these ways:

• Add the key to an existing cloud server or virtual machine’s authorized_keys file.
• Supply the public key when launching a new cloud instance or creating a fresh server.

Managing keys you already have

PuTTYgen also lets you work with keys you’ve previously generated:

• Create additional copies of the public key for distribution or backup.
• Load an existing private key into PuTTYgen to change its passphrase or edit the key comment, then save the updated key.

Why use PuTTYgen

PuTTYgen simplifies the process of producing and modifying SSH credentials. It’s lightweight, free, and straightforward to use whether you need to generate new keys, convert formats, or update existing private keys for improved security.