Shell access to your server using SSH (PuTTY for Windows)
PuTTY is the go-to SSH client for Windows, primarily because it's free and extremely reliable.
Download and Install PuTTY
If this is your first time using any PuTTY tools, download the latest stable release from the [PuTTY download website](external link opens in a new window). The easiest option is to get the Windows installer (available in 32-bit or 64-bit), which will be named something like `putty-0.62-installer.exe`. Install the applications using the default options.
PuTTY download website - external link opens in a new window.
The suite includes several applications:
PuTTYgen: A tool for generating, importing, and exporting SSH keys.
PSFTP: A simple command-line SFTP client.
Pageant: An SSH authentication agent that provides your private key data to other applications on your computer, such as PuTTY and Filezilla (a popular FTP/SFTP client).
PuTTY: The standard SSH shell terminal application for Windows.
Enable SSH on Your Account
If you haven't already, follow our guide to enable SSH on your account.
Configure PuTTY to Connect to Your Home Directory
Start PuTTY from the Windows Start menu. It works with your cPanel hosting account without requiring any customization, but here are some basics to make it easier:
First, click on the **Data** category, and enter your cPanel username in the Auto-login username field (e.g., `hippo1`).
Then, go back to the Session category (as below), and configure the following:
Host Name (or IP address): enter your Home Server name, or your domain name - as long as your domain resolves to our IP address then either will work. The example shows a connection to our hestia.krystal.co.uk server.
Port: 722
To make it easier next time, you should type a name for this connection profile in the Saved Sessions box, and click the Save button. Next time you open PuTTY, you will be able to simply double click on your saved session name to reconnect using the same settings.
Then, go back to the Session category (as below), and configure the following:
Host Name (or IP address): enter your Home Server name, or your domain name - as long as your domain resolves to our IP address then either will work. The example shows a connection to our hestia.krystal.co.uk server.
Port: 722
To make it easier next time, you should type a name for this connection profile in the Saved Sessions box, and click the Save button. Next time you open PuTTY, you will be able to simply double click on your saved session name to reconnect using the same settings.
Once you have connected, you will see the shell login prompt. Enter your cPanel password, and you are in!
Note that as you type the password the cursor will not move, it will just stay a green block - so please take care to enter your password correctly.
- In future, to reconnect to the same server again you'll simply need to select your Saved Session, click Load and then Open.
