PuTTY is a great Windows frontend, not to mention the need for an SSH client in the first place. On Linux, OS X, and most other UNIX-y based environments, SSH is generally purely command line, but still amazingly powerful. SSH Clients for Windows and Mac PuTTY is a free open-source terminal emulator which lets you initiate interactive command-line sessions to UITS Unix servers. It can act as a client for the SSH, Telnet, rlogin, and raw TCP computing protocols and as a serial console client.

I know that SSH from the command line is easy enough, but would like to give my students that use OS X a GUI option.

Is there a PuTTY equivalent for the Mac?

bmike♦Eric WilsonEric Wilson

12 Answers

If you are looking for something that keeps track of servers/connections via a GUI, Terminal.app will already do that for you. Launch it and then from the menu select Shell > New Remote Connection. This will give you a connections manager window.

The best GUI application for SSH (and everything else you can do on the command line) is iTerm 2. While the original iTerm had a tabbed interface before Terminal did, iTerm 2 again eclipses Terminal by adding:

• Support for 256 colors (you'll never go back to 16 colors after using 256)
• Split panes (the sort of thing you can do in GNU screen or tmux, but at the level of the terminal emulator rather than in a program running on the server)
• Special provision for integrating with tmux (an alternative to GNU screen, and which most people regard as better & faster than screen)
• Terminal-level auto-completion (I don't use this feature so I can't detail how it has advantages over shell-level autocompletion: especially if you use the fish shell or zsh, then it may not be better)
• Growl support
• an Exposé-like view of your tabs
• a full-screen view (and you can choose from either its own or OS X's built-in full-screen mode; I greatly prefer iTerm's own full-screen mode, since it doesn't force you to move to a new 'Space', thus allowing Command-Tab to still work properly)
• paste history (a good complement to the shells' command histories)
• Search
• Instant Replay

and a lot more. Some are mentioned here but some are not, such as co-processes, triggers,smart selection, semantic history, and so on. Development is pretty active, but documentation seems to lag behind. I highly recommend it. I've been using it for years now and have never missed Terminal.

(It's possible Terminal does some of the things I mention here--it's been so long since I've used it that I don't recall, but when I switched I paid close attention to the differences and there were lots of advantages to iTerm. And it keeps getting better every few weeks or months.)

iconoclasticonoclast

You could also take a look as ZOC6 seems pretty cool.

Nathan Greenstein

I'm getting along well with Royal TSX.

This is useful for SSH, RDP and VNC based terminals or web-based interfaces.It has a built-in credential management and team-sharing features.

Configure ssh options and connect to ssh hosts manually always make me feel bored and have a lot of trouble. At Codinn we made a couple of GUI tools to make using ssh effortless. Those tools helped ourselves, and may also help you.

Core Shell is a PuTTY alike tool with lots of extra features:

1. Full-featured terminal, supports 24bit true color.
2. Support everything in OpenSSH, agent forwarding, certificates, proxy jump, etc.
3. Can read your existing ssh_config file as the source of advanced options, especially helpful for experienced users.
4. Also included advanced options editor, a handy way to tune per-host advanced options.
5. Tightly integrated with macOS Keychain, don't have to enter passwords or passphrases repeatedly.
6. Always tries to restore your connections after network failure or waking up from sleep.

You could try SecureCRT and SecureFX from VanDyke Software.

Jawa

vSSH is actually an ssh client based on putty. I got it from the app store for about $10.00, so it's a great deal compared to ZOC.

If you want to start a gui program from ssh, you can use x11 and relay it with xeyes.

See https://dyhr.com/2009/09/05/how-to-enable-x11-forwarding-with-ssh-on-mac-os-x-leopard/

doriendorien

You need to try Termius (available also as mobile app)

Fred KFred K

Just download Wine and download PuTTy.exe and right click and run through wine and when wine opens hit enter (application support) and give it a second and it will open, just make sure you have a server

CyberDuck is a great option. I used it this semester in complement with Terminal. (CyberDuck is fully functional, we just coded in VI, so using the Terminal for SSH worked better for me.)

You can get CyberDuck for free online, or at a cost on the App Store.

Another option is FileZilla. I used it on Windows for FTP, but I believe that it supports SSH as well. It definitely runs on Mac as well as Windows, so it's another option. FileZilla is also free.

MosheMoshe

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In this era of business dominated by the web, having your own website is very important. Whether it is to support your business or just to fuel your passion for web development, you might need to login in or transfer files remotely to the server hosting your website. For this, File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is the most common option but if you want to ensure that the connection is protected, you can use another transfer protocol called Secure SHell protocol (SSH) which is encrypted to prevent any leakage of data or interception of the connection.

Over time, PuTTY has become the most popular terminal emulator which supports a variety of protocols. While PuTTY is very versatile, it is only available on Windows and the users who’ve recently switched from Windows to Mac feel left out. So, if you’re a Mac user looking to utilize the power of SSH are disheartened by the unavailability of Putty for Mac, here are some of the PuTTY alternatives SSH clients for macOS that you can check out.

PuTTY for Mac – Alternative SSH Clients in 2019

1. Terminal

The Terminal app is the default CLI that comes bundled with the Mac, and is a rather powerful tool, in case you didn’t know. You can use the Terminal to SSH into a remote server, provided, obviously, that you have the valid login credentials. Here’s a short example of how you can use the Terminal to SSH into a web-server. I’m using my website’s hosting server for illustration purposes. All you will need to do, is change the server name to your server and use your login credentials.

1. Launch Terminal.

2. Use the following command to connect to your web server using SSH:

ssh <server_name> -p <port_number>

3. It is likely that Terminal shows you the following message:

The authenticity of host 'xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx' can't be established.

Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)?

Type Yesto continue.

4. You will be asked to enter the password to the server or (or control panel in case of shared hosting service). The password will not be shown, even using asterisks (*), so make sure you enter it correctly. Once you have entered the login password, hit Enter, and you will be connected via SSH. You can now run shell commands on your server.

2. iTerm2

iTerm2 is a Terminal replacement for Mac with a plethora of added features that the default Terminal app doesn’t offer. Notable among the various features that iTerm2 offers are:

• Support for split-windows: Multiple independent terminals in the same tab.
• Support for Annotation: Add notes and comments to shell commands that have been run.
• Instant Playback: This feature plays back a history of everything you have done on iTerm2, in case you forgot to copy a number or some detail from older commands.
• Better search: Searching on iTerm2 highlights all the matches for the word, like Safari and Chrome do.
• Mouseless Copy: You don’t need to use the mouse to copy or paste text, anymore!

There are a lot of other features that are offered by iTerm2. You can read about them on their official website. The process to SSH into a web server using iTerm2 is exactly the same as the process in Terminal, except, iTerm2 will make your life easier inside the Terminal.

Download here

3. Shuttle

Shuttle is not so much an app as it is a shortcut menu for your SSH servers. Or at least that’s how it has been advertised. Since I don’t use SSH, I thought I wouldn’t really have a lot of use for it, but it turns out, Shuttle can be configured to run commands or scripts with just a couple of clicks.

Multi Tab Ssh Client

Shuttle comes with a shuttle.json file that you can edit (using a Text editor of your choice) to add SSH servers and configurations to the shortcut menu that Shuttle adds to your menu bar, and in this json file, you can actually add an entry for any command you want to run, when the corresponding menu item is clicked. This is great stuff! Not just SSH, you can basically add commands to run custom scripts simply from the menu bar, and have them open in a new Terminal window, or a new tab in the same Terminal window.

Download here

4. Termius

Termius, earlier known as Serverauditor, is more than just a simple SSH client. It is a broad set of tools which facilitates a panorama of server management applications and uses common protocols such as SSH, Mosh, and Telnet. In Termius, you can save a host so that there’s no need to enter the host address, username, or password every time before interacting with the server. Further, instead of being saved on your local machine, this data is associated with your Termius account which can be accessed on any other machine – even on an Android or iOS smartphone.

Additionally, there’s a graphical SFTP interface which lets you easily create new folders, copy new files, and manage the existing ones using simple actions. Overall, Termius is a great SSH tool for new users as well for anyone administrator who works remotely and uses many different machines to manage the server.

Termius is free-to-try for 14 days after which you’ll have to pay $6.99 a month or $59.88 a year.

Tabbed Ssh Client For Mac

Download here

5. OpenSSH

OpenSSH is a free and open source SSH protocol with a major focus on encryption and data protection. Data, including passwords, transmitted using OpenSSH are encrypted with multiple protocols to ensure full security of the contents on your server. Other than SSH, OpenSSH can also be used for file transfer using commands like SCP and SFTP. Besides ensuring secure tunneling of data, OpenSSH pays strong attention to passive ways of securing connections including support for multi-factor authentication and one-time passwords to prevent IP or DNS spoofing and avert fake routes. Lastly, OpenSSH also gives users the option to compress data before transmitting to ensure faster file transfers.

Setting up OpenSSH can be a bit overwhelming for new users and is only advised for those who have sufficient knowledge about SSH and other server management tools.

Download here

Setup Instructions here.

6. Royal TSX

Royal TSX is an extensive tool for managing multiple applications, virtual desktops, and server connections remotely, and all of this can be done simultaneouly. Using Royal TSX, you can load and use multiple well-known software like TeamViewer, VMware, Chicken, FreeRDP etc and protocols such as SFTP, SCP, VNC, SSH, Telnet – all of these and much more from a single interface. To manage each of these applications, IT admins must download small plug-ins but support for SSH is built it.

To start an SSH shell in Royal TSX on Mac, follow the following steps:

1. Press Command + L and enter the server address in the following format:

ssh://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:yy

Here “xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx” refers to the IP address of the server and “yy” refers to the port number.

Windows Ssh Client With Tabs

2. Press Enter and you’ll be asked to enter the username and then the password to enter the server.

3. Once you enter the password, you can use the Royal TSX in a Terminal-like interface

Royal TSX is available for free but while using the software under the shareware model, you will be limited to 10 connections and only a single documentper application.

Download here

Tabbed Ssh For Windows

7. Hyper

Hyper is a gorgeous-looking command line interface (CLI) which offers uniformly appealing interface across all major operating systems for desktops such as Windows, Mac, and Linux. Being a CLI, it works exactly like Terminal and you can execute the same commands to call a server via SSH. As per the official website, Hyper is built around open web standards and is designed to prioritize speed and stability, but one cannot deny its attractive visuals and smooth animations are what make it a much more appealing PuTTY alternative than Terminal or iTerm2.

Active Client For Mac

Download here

SEE ALSO: 10 Best Text Editors For Mac

Tabbed Ssh For Windows 10

Access Secure Shell Using These Putty for Mac Alternatives

While Mac already comes with Terminal built-in to run SSH commands, the options listed above expand the horizon of opportunities for you. If you’re managing a small website, learning how to use SSH can be vital, especially with the rising concerns about the safety of remotely-stored data.

We would love to hear about your experience with SSH on a Mac, and the problems (if any), that you have had to face due to the lack of PuTTY support for macOS. Share your opinions in the comments section below.

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