Does PuTTY use Linux commands?

PuTTY itself has almost no commands. It is a terminal window: whatever you type goes to the machine you connected to, so on a Linux server you use Linux commands (ls, cd, df -h, tail -f), on a Cisco switch you use IOS commands (show running-config), and on a modem you use AT commands. The only commands that belong to PuTTY are the putty.exe, plink, pscp, and psftp options you pass on the Windows command line.

How do I automate PuTTY commands?

Use plink, not the PuTTY window: nothing typed into the window can be scripted. plink -batch -i C:\keys\admin.ppk user@host "df -h" runs one command and prints the output, and -m commands.txt runs a whole file of them. Two flags matter for anything unattended: -batch makes plink fail instead of stopping on a prompt, and -hostkey SHA256:... stops the very first run from hanging on the unknown host key question. plink returns the remote command's exit code, so a scheduled task or batch file can test errorlevel and act on it.

How do I run a command automatically after login in PuTTY?

Put the command in Connection > SSH > Remote command and save the session. PuTTY runs it instead of a login shell and closes the window when it finishes, so for a one-off check like uptime also set Session > Close window on exit to Never. To land in a shell afterwards, use a remote command such as cd /var/log; exec bash -l. The field belongs to the saved session, so if you also want a plain shell on that host, save a second session under a different name rather than clearing the field each time.

How do I save in PuTTY?

It depends what you are saving. In nano, Ctrl+O then Enter writes the file and Ctrl+X exits. In vi or vim, press Esc first, then :w to save, :wq to save and quit, or :q! to leave without saving. On a Cisco or Aruba switch, write memory saves the running config so it survives a reload. To keep a copy of the session itself, turn on Session > Logging > All session output before you connect. Settings you change in the configuration window only stick if you go back to the Session panel and click Save on the session name.

How do I see command history in PuTTY?

History belongs to the shell on the server, not to PuTTY. Run history to list it, history | grep ssh to search it, press the Up arrow to step back through it, or Ctrl+R to search as you type. Rerun entry 42 with !42 and the last command with !!. For timestamps, add export HISTTIMEFORMAT='%F %T ' to ~/.bashrc; history -c clears the current session's list. The window's scrollback is separate: Shift+PgUp scrolls it, and Session > Logging writes everything to a file.

PuTTY Commands Cheat Sheet: Linux, plink & pscp (2026)

Linux Essentials

These are shell commands on the server, not PuTTY features. They work over any SSH client, including PuTTY.

Command	What it does
	Show the directory you are in
	List files, including hidden ones, with sizes and permissions
	Change directory ( goes up, goes back, alone goes home)
	Print a file to the screen
	Copy a file ( for a directory)
	Move or rename a file
	Delete a file ( deletes a directory and everything in it)
	Create a directory
	Edit a file (Ctrl+O saves, Ctrl+X exits)
	Change permissions (see the chmod calculator)
	Run a command as root
	Change your password
	Extract a .tar.gz ( creates one)
	Extract a .zip ( creates one)
	Download a file onto the server
	Log out and close the PuTTY window

Viewing Files and Logs

Command	What it does
	Page through a file ( quits, searches, jumps to the end)
	Follow a log as it grows (Ctrl+C stops)
	Show the last 100 lines
	Show the first 20 lines
	Print lines containing error ( ignores case)
	Search every file under a directory
	Last 50 log lines from a systemd service ( follows)
	Recent kernel messages, useful for hardware and USB problems
	Find files by name
	Size of a directory
	Count lines in a file

Text Editors

nano is the easy one and is on most servers. vi is on every server, including the stripped-down ones, so it is worth knowing enough to get out of.

Command	What it does
	Open a file in nano ( for one you do not own)
,	Save in nano
	Exit nano; it offers to save first
, ,	Search, cut the current line, paste it back
	Open a file in vi or vim
	Start typing; Esc goes back to command mode
, ,	Save, save and quit, quit without saving
, ,	Delete a line, copy a line, paste it below
then	Search, then jump to the next match
,	Jump to the first or last line
	Show line numbers
, Ctrl+R	Undo, redo

Stuck in vi with nothing happening: press Esc, then type and Enter. Nano's Ctrl+O and Ctrl+X are its own, not PuTTY's, so they reach the editor normally.

System and Processes

Command	What it does
	Disk space per filesystem
	Memory in use and free
	Live process list ( quits); if installed
	Find a running process
	Stop a process by PID ( forces it)
	Is a service running (, , , also work)
	Load and time since boot
	The server's IP addresses ( for the full list)
	Kernel and architecture; for the distro
	Which ports are listening and which process owns them
	Keep a job running after you close PuTTY
	Restart the server ( powers it off)

Networking

Command	What it does
	Every interface with its IP address ( for IPv4 only)
	Just the IP addresses, space separated
	Routing table, including the default gateway
	Link state and the interface's MAC address
	ARP table: which MAC answers for each neighbour ( on older systems)
	Send four pings (without it runs until Ctrl+C)
	Hops to a host; for a live view
	DNS lookup ( and also work)
	Fetch the response headers only
	Test whether a port is reachable from this server
	Current connections ( for listening ports)
	Firewall rules on Ubuntu ( on RHEL)
	Negotiated link speed and duplex

, , and are gone from most current distros; and replace them. Changing an interface address over SSH cuts your own session off the moment it applies, so make that change over the serial console instead.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Copy and paste are where PuTTY differs most from a Windows program.

Key	Action
	Select text, which copies it to the clipboard on its own
	Paste
	Paste
	Copy the current selection again
,	Select a word, select a line
	Select text when a program (vim, htop) has taken over the mouse
	Rectangular selection
,	Scroll the window a page at a time
,	Scroll one line
	Interrupt the running command (not copy)
	Send end of file; on an empty prompt this logs out
	Suspend the foreground job ( resumes it)
	Clear the screen
	Search command history as you type
Up, Down	Step through previous commands
Tab	Complete a file name or command
,	Jump to start or end of the line
,	Delete to start of line, delete the previous word
	Open PuTTY's own menu (Restart Session, Change Settings, Special Command)

Ctrl+Shift+C and Ctrl+Shift+V are off by default. Turn them on under Window > Selection > "Ctrl+Shift+C/V" if you want them.

Session Actions

Action	How
Clear the screen	or Ctrl+L
Clear the scrollback too	then Ctrl+right-click > Clear Scrollback
Log out	, , or Ctrl+D on an empty prompt
Close a hung session	Close the window (Alt+F4); OpenSSH's escape does not exist in PuTTY
Reconnect after a drop	Ctrl+right-click > Restart Session
Open a second window to the same host	Ctrl+right-click > Duplicate Session
Change settings mid-session	Ctrl+right-click > Change Settings (window and colour options apply live)
Send a break (Cisco console, hung serial device)	Ctrl+right-click > Special Command > Break
Fix a garbled screen after on a binary	, or Ctrl+right-click > Reset Terminal
Save everything from this window	Ctrl+right-click > Copy All to Clipboard
Show your command history	; to search it
Rerun a previous command	for the last one, for entry 42
Check the PuTTY version	Help > About, or from a command prompt

Session Settings

Set these in the PuTTY configuration window, then go back to Session and click Save so they stick.

Setting	Where	Notes
Keepalive	Connection > Seconds between keepalives	Set to (0 is off). Stops idle drops; see Software caused connection abort
Auto-login username	Connection > Data > Auto-login username	Skips the prompt
Run a command after login	Connection > SSH > Remote command	Replaces the login shell; also set Session > Close window on exit to Never for one-off commands
Keep a shell after the command	Same field
Private key	Connection > SSH > Auth > Credentials	Needs a ; convert with the PEM to PPK converter or make one with the PuTTY key generator
Session logging	Session > Logging > All session output	Use in the file name for one log per day
X11 forwarding	Connection > SSH > X11 > Enable X11 forwarding	Needs VcXsrv or Xming running first; see Cannot open display
Port forwarding	Connection > SSH > Tunnels	Source port , destination , click Add
Bigger scrollback	Window > Lines of scrollback	Default is 2000; costs nothing noticeable
Local echo (serial, modems)	Terminal > Local echo: Force on	For when you cannot see what you type

Command Line Options

accepts these from a Windows command prompt, PowerShell, or a shortcut's Target field. Most map to a field in the configuration window.

Option	What it does
	Open an SSH session (, , for the others)
	Port (uppercase P)
	Username, as an alternative to
	Private key in PuTTY's format
	Password. Avoid it: it shows in Task Manager and shell history
	Password from a file (PuTTY 0.77 and newer)
	Open a saved session; other options on the line override it
	Run the commands in the file instead of a shell
	Local port forward (repeat for more)
	Remote port forward
	Dynamic SOCKS proxy on local port 1080
	Forward ports only, no shell
/	Enable or disable X11 forwarding
/	Enable or disable agent forwarding
/	Use or ignore Pageant for authentication
	Compression
	Accept only this host key (scripting)
	Log the session to a file
	Serial session: port, then speed, data bits, parity, stop bits, flow control
	Verbose connection details in the event log
	Remove PuTTY's registry entries and random seed file
	Print the version and exit

Examples:

putty.exe -ssh [email protected] -P 2222 -i C:\keys\admin.ppk
putty.exe -load "prod-web" -L 8080:localhost:80
putty.exe -serial COM3 -sercfg 9600,8,n,1,N

There is no command line flag for keepalives. Set them in a saved session and open it with .

plink

plink is PuTTY without the window: it runs one command on a remote host and prints the output, so it is the piece you use in batch files and scheduled tasks. It shares the options above.

Command	What it does
	Run a command and print the output
	Save the output to a local file
	Never prompt; fail instead (for scripts)
	Authenticate with a key
	Accept only the expected host key, so a first run never hangs on the prompt
	Run every line of a file
	Same, reading from standard input
	Use a saved session's host, port, and key
	Open a tunnel and keep it up, no shell
	No pseudo-terminal, cleaner output for parsing
	Interactive session in the current console window

A batch file that checks a server every morning:

@echo off
plink -batch -i C:\keys\admin.ppk -hostkey SHA256:REPLACE [email protected] "df -h; uptime" > C:\logs\morning.txt

pscp

pscp copies files between Windows and a server over SSH. Remote paths are .

Command	What it does
	Upload a file
	Download a file to the current directory
	Download a directory (recursive)
	Upload a directory
	Non-standard port (uppercase P)
	Authenticate with a key
	Preserve timestamps and permissions
	List a remote directory
	Never prompt (scripts)
/	Force the SFTP or SCP protocol; SFTP is the default when the server offers it
	Quote remote paths that contain spaces

psftp

psftp is an interactive FTP-style session over SSH. Start it with (add , as for pscp), then use these at the prompt.

Command	What it does
	Connect, if you started psftp with no host
or	List the remote directory
	Change remote directory ( shows it)
	Change the local directory ( shows it)
	Download a file to the local directory
	Upload a file
	Download several files by wildcard
	Upload several files
/	Download or upload a directory
	Resume an interrupted download ( for uploads)
,	Create or remove a remote directory
,	Delete or rename a remote file
	Change remote permissions
	Run a local Windows command
	Disconnect and quit ( and also work)

Scripted transfers go in a file, one command per line, and run with . Add to continue past errors and to echo each command.

Serial Connections

For console cables, Raspberry Pi and Arduino boards, and modems. Set Connection type to Serial in the Session panel, or use on the command line.

Setting	Value
Serial line	The COM port from Device Manager > Ports (COM & LPT), e.g.
Speed	for most network gear consoles; for Raspberry Pi, ESP32, and most dev boards
Data bits, stop bits, parity	, , (written 8N1)
Flow control	(XON/XOFF is PuTTY's default and can hang a session)
Command line

If nothing appears after connecting, press Enter once; a console does not print until you do. If PuTTY refuses the port, see Unable to open serial port. If you cannot see what you type, set Terminal > Local echo to Force on.

Modem and cellular module AT commands, typed into the serial session:

Command	What it does
	Should answer ; confirms the link and speed are right
	Manufacturer and model
	Turn on echo so you can see what you type ( off)
	Signal quality (0 to 31; 99 means no signal)
	SIM status
	Current network operator
	Reset to the saved profile
	Reset to factory defaults

Cisco and Network Devices

Over the console cable or SSH to a switch or router, PuTTY is just the window; these are IOS commands. The prompt tells you the mode: is user mode, is privileged, is global configuration.

Command	What it does
	Enter privileged mode
	Enter configuration mode
	The active configuration ( for short)
	The saved configuration
	Every interface with IP and up/down state
	Port speed, duplex, VLAN, and link state (switches)
	VLANs and their ports
	Which MAC is on which port
	Model, IOS version, uptime, serial number
	Device log
	Stop the pauses for the session
	Select a port (from config mode)
	Put the selected port in VLAN 10
/	Disable or enable the selected port
	Back to privileged mode from anywhere in config
	Save the running config (same as )
	Reboot the device
	Leave the current mode, or log out from user mode
	List the commands valid here; lists completions, Tab completes

Aruba and HP ProCurve switches use the same shape: , , , , and . Juniper uses , , and instead.

Connection refused when you SSH to a switch usually means SSH is not turned on yet; see Network error: Connection refused.

Gotchas

Ctrl+C is interrupt, not copy. Selecting text already copied it; right-click pastes. Pasting a multi-line snippet runs every line the moment it lands, so check it first.
A session that drops after a few idle minutes wants a keepalive, not a bigger scrollback. Connection > Seconds between keepalives: 30, then Save.
on the command line is visible to every user on the machine in Task Manager. Use a key with , or Pageant.
PuTTY cannot use an OpenSSH or key directly. Convert it to with the PEM to PPK converter or PuTTYgen.
Closing the PuTTY window kills whatever was running in it. For a long job, start it under , , or .
There is no file transfer inside the PuTTY window. Downloads and uploads go through pscp, psftp, or WinSCP from a separate command prompt.
Windows 10 and 11 ship OpenSSH, so in PowerShell works without PuTTY at all. PuTTY still wins for serial ports and saved sessions. The PuTTY download page covers which build to install.

PuTTY Commands