SolarWinds® Solar-PuTTY is a terminal emulation client with a browser-based user interface. Built on top of PuTTY, this free tool includes a browser-based interface with tabs that allow you to open multiple client sessions.

Solar-PuTTY extends the functionality of PuTTY, allowing you to connect to a resource using the following protocols:

• Secure Shell (SSH)
• Telnet
• File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
• SSH File Transfer Protocol (SFTP)
• Secure Copy Protocol (SCP)

Installation requirements

Download and run the tool for the first time

1. Download the free tool here:
   https://www.solarwinds.com/solar-putty
2. Unzip the tool.
3. Double-click Solar-PuTTY.exe.
4. Accept the terms of the license agreement.

Overview screen

When you launch Solar-PuTTY for the first time, the Overview screen is displayed. Here, you can enter the IP address of your remote server, or select ‘Create new session’ for additional options. See Create a new session later in this guide for details.

The Overview screen provides quick access to your saved sessions. Each session includes a screen with clickable options. These options are ordered by frequency, so the connections used the most often are always at hand.

The Overview screen includes a search bar to search for a saved session, filtering out any session that doesn’t meet your search criteria. You can also use the search bar to define a new session.

All running sessions are organized in tabs. We tried to make this behavior as browser-like as possible. You can create a new tab by clicking the + icon or CTLR+T.  You can also move the tab to a separate window by right-clicking the tab and selecting Detach. To reorder the tabs, press CTRL and the left or right arrow keys.

Create a session

You can create a new session using the Search bar, the “Create new session” form, or the Sessions tab.

Create session using the Search bar

To create a new session using the Search bar, enter the IP address or hostname and press Enter. You can also define the SSH or Telnet protocol, username, and port.

For example:

• 192.168.1.5– Connects to the default port using SSHv2
• Mycoolserver.company.local– Connects to the default port using SSHv2
• telnet:192.168.1.5–  Connects to the default port using Telnet
• admin@mycoolserver.company.local:8888–  Connects to port 8888 as an admin using SSHv2

Create a session using a form

Click “Create new session” to bring up a form. Complete the form and click Create to connect to the targeted resource and save the session

Create a session using the Settings tab

Press CTRL + S to open the Settings tab and create a new session

Discover saved PuTTY sessions

Solar-PuTTY can read registry entries and locate already existing PuTTY sessions. These sessions are automatically added to Solar-PuTTY.

Import and export sessions

To export a session, click Export Sessions under the vertical ellipsis menu. The application prompts you to set a password, which is used to encrypt the exported data file. This file contains the sessions, keys, scripts, tags, and relationships associated with these entities.

The exported data file and the application are portable. This allows you to import your saved sessions to Solar-Putty running on a different PC. During the import, the application prompts you for a password to protected data file.

Settings

You can access settings by pressing CTRL+S or clicking the vertical ellipsis menu button in the user interface.

Sessions

Click the Sessions tab to define a new session or delete an existing session. You can link your existing sessions to credentials, tags or scripts.

Credentials

Use the Credential Manager to automatically authenticate to a targeted resource using a password and keys.

Tags

Tags enhance your search options by adding labels to your saved sessions. Using the Address bar on the Overview screen, you can search these tags and automatically filter sessions to meet your search criteria.

Scripts

After you connect to a machine, use scripts in an SSH connection to send post-authentication commands to the machine.

Solar-PuTTY does not include a script editor. During a session, the tool links an existing script saved on your computer. When you create a session and authenticate, Solar-PuTTY sends the script content to the remote machine. Most servers will close the session after executing the command.

Logs

When you enable logging in your session configuration, the application logs all data sent by the server in your terminal session. When you create a new folder in the Logs tab, the application saves your log files to the folder.

Windows integration

Solar-PuTTY creates a Windows shortcut for each saved session. This allows you to search and launch a saved session using a Windows search.

You can also create a shortcut to a specific server, which you can save on your desktop or pin to your taskbar or Start menu. When you right-click the Solar-PuTTY icon on the Windows taskbar, the application provides a list of the 10 most frequent sessions.

Generate certificate

You can use the PuTTY key generator to generate your own keys. To access this feature, click the top left vertical ellipsis menu and select “Generate certificate”. See the PuTTY User Manual for details.

File Transfer protocols

You can extend Solar-PuTTY to support FTP, SFTP and SCP protocols. To configure a protocol to your session, click the Type of connection drop-down menu on the new session form and select a protocol.

The menu includes the SCP/SFTP/FTP option, which is grayed out. To add support for these protocols, click Download. The application downloads the WinSCP libraries from a third-party location and restart. When the download is completed, you can use the selected protocols in your sessions.

Solar-PuTTY keyboard shortcuts

Solar-PuTTY supports following keyboard shortcuts by default. This functionality can be turned off in application settings in case it conflicts with your remote server keyboard shortcuts.

Solar-PuTTY CLI arguments