How to Install & Connect PuTTY SSH Client on Debian 11 Bullseye

PuTTy is an open-source, lightweight program that you can use to login into your remote machine with a terminal emulator that has been around since 2002. It supports protocols such as SSH and SCP for secure communication over networks or even from one device directly onto another without account restrictions!

In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install the PuTTY SSH Client on Debian 11 Bullseye.

Update Debian

First, before you begin, make sure your system is up-to-date by using the following terminal command.

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Install PuTTY SSH Client

By default, the software is available on Debian 11’s default repository.

Begin the installation using the following terminal command.

sudo apt install putty putty-tools -y

Confirm the installation by verifying PuTTy’s version as follows.

putty --version

Example output:

How to Launch PuTTY SSH Client UI

The UI can be launched by following the Activities > Show Applications > PuTTY SSH Client path.

Example:

Once you open it, you can use the UI to connect to remote connections. The UI also can customize your SSH client quite heavily compared to using a regular Linux terminal.

Example:

Additional Run Commands

Alternatively, for users that prefer using the terminal, below is a list of free tools you can use in the command terminal.

PuTTY secure copy client (SCP)

pscp

Utilize SFTP to manage remote server files securely

psftp

Generate SSH RSA and DSA keys

puttygen

Example options:

Usage: puttygen ( keyfile | -t type [ -b bits ] )
[ -C comment ] [ -P ] [ -q ]
[ -o output-keyfile ] [ -O type | -l | -L | -p ]
Use "puttygen --help" for more detail.

How to Remove (Uninstall) PuTTY SSH Client

Use the following command for users who no longer wish to have PuTTY installed.

sudo apt autoremove putty --purge -y

This will remove in full PuTTY and all traces of its data.

Comments and Conclusion

In the tutorial, you have learned how to install PuTTY on Debian 11 Bullseye and engage the command line tools instead of expressly using the GUI.

Overall, SSH is still the most preferred option in Linux to securely connect to remote servers, and PuTTY has been wildly popular for the past two decades. You can use it on macOS, Windows, or other types of UNIX systems.