Alternatives to KiTTY
A PuTTY fork for Windows that adds session filtering, automatic login scripts and portability. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
KiTTY
A PuTTY fork for Windows that adds session filtering, automatic login scripts and portability.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as KiTTY.
PuTTY
The small, stubbornly reliable SSH and Telnet client that has been on every Windows admin’s desktop for twenty-five years.
PuTTY is the upstream project KiTTY forks, receiving regular security releases and running on Linux too, but it lacks KiTTY's session filter and automatic login scripts.
MobaXterm
A Windows remote-computing toolbox: tabbed SSH, an X11 server, RDP, VNC, FTP and Unix commands in one portable executable.
MobaXterm adds an X11 server, RDP, VNC and a graphical SFTP browser in a portable Windows executable, but is closed source and its free edition caps saved sessions.
WindTerm
A fast SSH, SFTP, telnet, serial and tmux client for Windows, macOS and Linux, free for commercial use.
WindTerm is a native SSH, SFTP, telnet and serial client for Windows, macOS and Linux, free for commercial use, though only part of its source is published.
Tera Term
Long-running Windows terminal emulator for SSH, Telnet and serial connections.
Tera Term is a BSD-licensed Windows client for SSH, Telnet and serial with a macro language for automating sessions, but its interface is dated.
Tabby
A terminal, SSH client and serial console in one window, with a connection manager and an encrypted secret store.
Tabby runs on Windows, macOS and Linux with SSH, serial, a connection manager and an encrypted secret store, but Electron makes it heavier than KiTTY.
Electerm
Manage terminal and remote-file connections in one application.
Electerm combines terminal and remote-file connections including SSH and SFTP on Windows, macOS and Linux, though available protocols vary by platform.
Solar-PuTTY
A free tabbed SSH, Telnet, SCP and SFTP session manager for Windows, built on PuTTY.
Solar-PuTTY is also built on PuTTY and adds tabs, saved credentials and graphical SFTP in a portable app, but it is closed source.
Bitvise SSH Client
A Windows SSH client combining a terminal, SFTP file transfer and port forwarding.
Bitvise SSH Client combines a terminal with graphical SFTP and flexible port forwarding on Windows, free to use but closed source.
Also worth comparing
These listings name KiTTY as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
OpenSSH
The standard SSH client and server suite for encrypted remote login, file copying and tunnelling.
KiTTY is a Windows-only PuTTY fork adding session filtering, automatic login scripts and portability, but it is based on PuTTY 0.76 and lacks newer security fixes.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
Windows Terminal
Microsoft’s tabbed terminal for Windows, hosting Command Prompt, PowerShell and WSL in one GPU-rendered window.
WinSCP
A Windows file manager for remote servers, covering SFTP, FTP, FTPS, SCP, S3 and WebDAV, with scripting built in.
assh
Wrapper that adds regex hosts, templates, gateways and hooks to SSH configuration.
Wishlist
Choose SSH destinations from an interactive directory.
SmartFTP
A Windows client for FTP, FTPS, SFTP, WebDAV, SSH and cloud storage transfers.
