PuTTYgen

PuTTYgen is the key generator that ships with PuTTY. It creates public and private SSH keys in PuTTY’s native .ppk format and supports RSA, DSA, ECDSA, and Ed25519 algorithms for SSH-2 (and RSA for legacy SSH-1). Keys can be converted for use with OpenSSH and other tools. On Windows, run PuTTYgen from the Start menu after installing the MSI; on Linux, the puttygen command is often provided by the putty-tools package. For a full click-by-click walkthrough, use the How to use page on this site.

What it does

• Generate new key pairs and set an optional passphrase to protect the private key.
• Save public and private keys; copy the OpenSSH-style public line for authorized_keys.
• Import or convert existing keys (for example between .ppk and PEM formats).

Typical use

Use PuTTYgen when you need key-based login to servers, cloud VMs, or Git over SSH from Windows. Pair the private key with Pageant or specify it in PuTTY’s connection settings. For an overview of the full bundle (PSCP, PSFTP, Plink, Pageant), visit the PuTTY home page or download section.

More help

Installation options, your first SSH session, and PSCP/PSFTP basics are covered on the How to use page. Downloads use only this site’s Download flow.

Get PuTTY (includes PuTTYgen on Windows)