OpenSSH is the open-source version of the Secure Shell (SSH) tools used by administrators of Linux and other non-Windows for cross-platform management of remote systems. Beginning with Windows 10 build 1809 and Windows Server 2019, OpenSSH is available as a feature on demand.
SSH is based on a client-server architecture where the system the user is working on is the client and the remote system being managed is the server. OpenSSH includes a range of components and tools designed to provide a secure and straightforward approach to remote system administration.
The following table lists the default install state of OpenSSH for Windows on different Windows releases.
Windows release
SSH install state
Windows Server 2019
Not installed, install and enable using optional features
Windows Server 2022
Not installed, install and enable using optional features
Windows Server 2025
Installed but not enabled
Windows 10 build 1809 +
Not installed, install and enable using optional features
OpenSSH for Windows has the following commands built in.
ssh is the SSH client component that runs on the user's local system
sshd is the SSH server component that must be running on the system being managed remotely
ssh-keygen generates, manages and converts authentication keys for SSH
ssh-agent stores private keys used for public key authentication
ssh-add adds private keys to the list allowed by the server
ssh-keyscan aids in collecting the public SSH host keys from hosts
sftp is the service that provides the Secure File Transfer Protocol, and runs over SSH
scp is a file copy utility that runs on SSH
Tip
The documentation focuses on how OpenSSH is used on Windows, including installation, and
Windows-specific configuration, commands, and use cases. Additional detailed documentation for
common OpenSSH features is available online at
OpenSSH.com.
Feedback on Windows OpenSSH is welcomed and can be provided by creating GitHub issues in our OpenSSH GitHub repo. The OpenSSH open source project is managed by developers at the OpenBSD Project. The Microsoft fork of this project is in GitHub.
In this module, you'll learn how to seamlessly develop on a remote machine using the Visual Studio Code Remote - SSH extension. We'll explore how to run and debug code located on a remote machine, while locally using Visual Studio Code's full feature set.
As a Windows Server hybrid administrator, you integrate Windows Server environments with Azure services and manage Windows Server in on-premises networks.