Automatically log in to a Linux server using PuTTY on Windows

Fri, 17 Feb 2023 14:51:15 +0000

You can automatically log in to a Linux server on Windows using PuTTY by making use of a key file. Below I explain step by step how to do this.

Create a key: start: puttygen.exe
Click on: Generate
Click on: Save private key
Go to PuTTY Configuration -> Session
Load a previously created session or create a new one
Go to: Connection -> SSH -> Auth -> Private key file for authentication -> Browse
Select your file with the private key: *.ppk
Go back to Session and click on: Save
Log in to the Linux server using the Saved Sessions and still with your password
Create a new directory in the home directory: .ssh
Give this directory the correct permissions: chmod 700 ~/.ssh
Create and edit the file authorized_keys: vi ~/ssh/authorized_keys
Copy the Public key for pasting from the PuTTY Key Generator
Paste it into the authorized_keys file on the Linux server
Save the authorized_keys file (for vi type: :wq)
Give this file the correct permissions: chmod 600 ~/.ssh/authorized_keys
Close the logged-in PuTTY session to the Linux Server
Open the session again to verify that you can now log in automatically

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