PuTTY on macOS

There is no PuTTY for Mac — and you would not want it

PuTTY is a Windows program. The X11 build you can compile through Homebrew works, in the sense that it runs; it also drags in an X server, ignores every macOS convention, and still cannot transfer a file. Here is the honest landscape, and where Tempest fits in it.

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Apple Silicon and Intel. Free plan available.

Tempest on macOS with an SSH session and the SFTP file manager

The honest answer first

What people actually mean by PuTTY for Mac

Three different questions hide behind that search, and they have three different answers.

I want to SSH from my Mac. Then you already can — macOS ships OpenSSH, and Terminal or iTerm2 is enough for a couple of hosts.
I want PuTTY's saved sessions list. That is the real gap: a searchable list of hosts with credentials, not a shell history you grep.
I need to open my .ppk keys and my exported sessions. Both convert — PuTTYgen exports OpenSSH keys, and a registry export imports directly here. Import PuTTY sessions

What the port costs

The Homebrew build is an X11 application

PuTTY on macOS means the X11 version: you install XQuartz, you get a window that does not follow any Mac convention, no native fonts, no clipboard behaviour you expect, and no file transfer beyond the command-line psftp.

It works. It is also 1990s Unix UI on a 2026 laptop, and nobody enjoys it.
No SFTP browser, no tabs, no profile sync — the same limits PuTTY has on Windows, minus the native feel it has there.
If you only need it to test one legacy device, keep it and move on. This is not a page about deleting things that work.

The replacement

What a Mac SSH client should give you

The reason to install anything at all on top of Terminal is the list and the file transfer — everything else is a preference.

Saved hosts with credentials, grouped and searchable, synced zero-knowledge encrypted to every device. How E2EE sync works
SFTP browser with an editor that saves straight back to the server — no separate Cyberduck window. SFTP file manager
Serial, Telnet and RDP for the devices PuTTY was often used for, in the same app. Serial terminal
Jump hosts and saved tunnels instead of a ProxyCommand you look up every time. Jump host guide
Native Apple Silicon build, installable with Homebrew.
Editing a remote file over SFTP in Tempest on macOS

Frequently asked questions

Is there an official PuTTY for macOS?
No. PuTTY's official releases are Windows only. What exists on macOS is the X11 source build, usually installed via Homebrew along with XQuartz.
How do I open a .ppk file on a Mac?
Convert it with PuTTYgen on a Windows machine (Conversions, Export OpenSSH key), or with puttygen from the command line on macOS. The resulting OpenSSH key imports straight into Tempest, or works with ssh directly.
Can I bring my PuTTY sessions across?
Yes — export the registry key on the Windows machine and import the .reg file. Names, hosts, ports and usernames all come across. Import PuTTY sessions
What about serial console access, which is what I used PuTTY for?
Serial is a connection type here, with USB adapters listed by name rather than by a device path you have to guess.
Is it free?
There is a free plan covering SSH, Mosh and SFTP. Pro adds serial, RDP, VNC, Kubernetes, RCON and the AI agent, as a subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase.

Keep exploring

PuTTY alternative Tempest vs PuTTY SSH client for Mac Import PuTTY sessions Serial terminal

Stop porting a Windows program. Start with a Mac one.

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