openSSH On Windows

openSSH is a popular tool for performing operations using SSH, SCP and SFTP.  As of version 1809 of Windows 10 it actually comes bundled.  On the current version of the desktops at TC (version 1709), openSSH requires an installation as it is an optional feature.

Install Steps

Follow steps 1-5 from this link.  If you only want the openSSH client then this is good enough.  If you want to set up the openSSH server, generate keys, etc. then go ahead and look at the remaining steps.

You should now be able to type ssh, sftp, scp or any other openSSH commands into your command window.

Some Useful Info

Private Key Format

If you're using a private key with extension .ppk (Putty private key), this will have to be converted to openSSH format so that you can use it with openSSH.  To do this you'll have to download PuTTY and use PuTTYGen to export your key as an openSSH key as described here.

Sample Usage

If you want to send a file securely using SFTP:

1. Set up a configuration file for your sftp connection.  Call it "config" and put it in a folder called .ssh under your user folder (eg. c:\Users\{your name}\.ssh).

   Sample file:

   Host sftp2aws
       HostName      somehost.server.transfer.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com
       IdentityFile  C:\Users\{your name}\Documents\sftpsmmstranscandsd-key
       User          sftpaws
   	HostKeyAlgorithms ssh-rsa
       Compression   yes

   • Host - alias name for your connection
   • HostName - the actual destination of the sftp server
   • IdentityFile - your private key
   • User - username
   • Rest is likely optional

2. Create a script holding command(s) to actually send the file.
   Sample script:

   put c:\yourfiletosend.txt
   exit

3. Open regedit.
4. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU.
5. Change the value of the UseWUServer attribute to 0.
6. In a command window run the following:

net stop wuauserv && net start wuauserv

Install

1. To make sure that the OpenSSH features are available for install, run the following in powershell:

   Get-WindowsCapability -Online | ? Name -like 'OpenSSH*'

   This should return the following:

   Name  : OpenSSH.Client~~~~0.0.1.0
   State : NotPresent
   
   Name  : OpenSSH.Server~~~~0.0.1.0
   State : NotPresent

2. Then, simply install the client and/or server features as follows:

   # Install the OpenSSH Client
   Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name OpenSSH.Client~~~~0.0.1.0
   
   # Install the OpenSSH Server
   Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name OpenSSH.Server~~~~0.0.1.0

   Both should return the following output:

   Path          :
   Online        : True
   RestartNeeded : False

3. You should now be able to type ssh, sftp, scp or any other openSSH commands into your command window.