OpenSSH is a comprehensive implementation of the Secure Shell protocol, providing encrypted remote login, command execution and file transfer between computers. It is the standard SSH implementation on most Linux distributions and is widely used for administering servers, network appliances and other systems over potentially insecure networks.
The software consists of a collection of client and server utilities that work together to authenticate users and establish protected communication channels. OpenSSH originated in the OpenBSD project, while Portable OpenSSH adapts the implementation to Linux and other operating systems. It supports both interactive administration and automated workflows, making it a fundamental component of modern network infrastructure.
This is free and open source software.
Key Features
- The sshd daemon accepts incoming SSH connections and provides authenticated access to interactive shells and remote commands.
- Supports public-key, password and keyboard-interactive authentication, with configurable restrictions on user accounts and permitted authentication methods.
- Includes ssh, scp, sftp and sftp-server for remote sessions and encrypted file transfers.
- Provides ssh-keygen for managing cryptographic keys, together with ssh-agent and ssh-add for managing authentication credentials.
- Supports hardware-backed authentication using compatible FIDO security tokens and modern cryptographic algorithms, including hybrid post-quantum key exchange.
- Offers local, remote and dynamic TCP port forwarding, jump-host connections through ProxyJump, and X11 forwarding.
- Provides extensive client and server configuration through ssh_config and sshd_config, including host-specific rules and Match directives.
- Portable OpenSSH supports integration with Linux authentication and security facilities, including PAM and SELinux.
Website: www.openssh.com
Support:
Developer: The OpenBSD Project
License: BSD License
OpenSSH is written in C. Learn C with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
Related Software
| SSH Servers | |
|---|---|
| OpenSSH | Comprehensive SSH server for secure remote access and file transfers |
| Teleport | Infrastructure access platform with SSH authentication and auditing |
| Warpgate | Transparent bastion host for secure, auditable remote access |
| ssh3 | Faster and rich secure shell using HTTP/3 |
| TinySSH | Minimalistic SSH server |
| Dropbear | Lightweight SSH server for embedded and resource-limited systems |
| ContainerSSH | Launches isolated, temporary containers for each SSH session |
| ssh2incus | SSH access to Incus instances without running SSH servers inside them |
| HPNSSH | High-performance SSH optimized for faster data transfers |
| wolfSSH | Embeddable SSH server implementation with SCP and SFTP support |
Read our verdict in the software roundup.
| Remote Desktop Servers | |
|---|---|
| TigerVNC | Platform-neutral implementation of VNC |
| GNOME Remote Desktop | Designed for GNOME using pipewire. |
| X2Go | Fast terminal server suite based on NoMachine's NX libraries |
| RustDesk | Works out of the box with no configuration required |
| TurboVNC | TightVNC-compatible remote desktop software |
| FreeRDP | Remote Desktop Protocol Implementation |
| TightVNC | Remote network access to graphical desktops |
| xrdp | Accepts connections from variety of RDP clients |
| Xpra | Multi-platform persistent remote display server |
| Guacamole | Clientless remote desktop gateway |
| OpenSSH | Encrypted communication sessions using the ssh protocol |
| Veyon | Computer monitoring and classroom management |
| KasmVNC | Browser-based VNC server for secure remote desktop access |
| IronRDP | Rust implementation of RDP |
| Dayon! | Easy to use, cross-platform remote desktop assistance solution |
| wayvnc | VNC server for wlroots-based Wayland compositors |
| Lamco RDP Server | Wayland-native RDP server for Linux |
| hypr-rdp | Native RDP server for Hyprland |
Read our verdict in the software roundup.
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