How to create or convert private key in Unix/Linux in .ppk format which can be used in Windows PuTTY?

Question

Is it possible to create or convert keys in Linux into .ppk format which can be used in PuTTY in Windows?

Without downloading any additional software like puttygen, possibly using standard tools like ssh-keygen.

To be more specific, the .ppk format with ssh-2 protocol and bytes=2048.

Answer 1

No, ssh-keygen does not support the PuTTY key format. In both operating systems, you will need PuTTYgen.

• On Windows, use PuTTYgen's "Import OpenSSH key" command.

• On Linux, puttygen input.key -o output.ppk.

The format is documented in sshpubk.c:377 if you want to write your own program.