cputty 1.1.1

cputty is a cluster-SSH tool based on PuTTY 0.85, in the style of the classic Solaris cssh: it opens one PuTTY terminal window per host plus a console window, and keystrokes typed into the console go to every ticked session.

What's new in 1.1.1

Security hardening

• Hardened Linux binaries. The Linux programs are now built with the exploit mitigations Linux distributions use for their own packages: stack protector, _FORTIFY_SOURCE=3, stack clash protection and full RELRO. Earlier releases had none of these apart from PIE. When building from source they are on by default; -DPUTTY_HARDENING=OFF turns them off.
• Groups file saving no longer follows symlinks. On Linux, a symlink planted at the groups file's temporary name could redirect the save to another file. The temporary file is now created fresh with O_EXCL.

New since 1.0.0

• Host groups. Give a set of hosts a name, then open them all with one click in the console. To make a group, tick the hosts you want and press Save ticked hosts as group; right-click a group to delete it. A group name also works on the command line:

  cputty -l root web
  

  Groups live in a plain text file that you can also edit by hand, one group per line:

  web  arrange=yes  web1 web2 root@web3:2222
  db   db1 db2
  

  On Linux it's ~/.config/putty/cputty-groups (or ~/.putty/cputty-groups); on Windows, %APPDATA%\cputty\groups.txt.

• Arrange windows. A new console button tiles all the terminal windows and the console evenly over the screen, with the console in the bottom right corner. Add arrange=yes to a group (or tick the box when saving it) to arrange the windows automatically whenever that group is opened.

• Window placement. Terminal windows now open in a cascade from the top left of the screen, so you can see each one open, and the console sits in the bottom right corner, in front.

• host:port works wherever a host does, on the command line and in groups ([address]:port for IPv6).

• The console now stays open when the last session closes, so you can open another group. Starting cputty with no hosts shows just the console, with your groups and a New session button.

Fixes since 1.0.0

• Dialogs opened from the console on Linux are now modal. On window managers that don't give new dialogs the focus, keys typed into a dialog (including the close-confirmation box) went to the console and were broadcast to every session.
• -pgpfp, the Windows About boxes and the man pages now make clear that this is cputty, not official PuTTY, and where to report problems. SECURITY.md explains how to report vulnerabilities privately.

Downloads

File	Contents
cputty_1.1.1_amd64.deb	cputty only; installs alongside Debian's putty packages
cputty-suite_1.1.1_amd64.deb	SSH-only putty, plink, pscp, psftp, puttygen, pageant; replaces Debian's putty and putty-tools
cputty-1.1.1-linux-x86_64.tar.gz	All of the above as plain Linux binaries, with man pages
cputty-1.1.1-windows-x86_64.zip	cputty.exe plus the SSH-only PuTTY tools for 64-bit Windows
SHA256SUMS	Checksums

Install a Debian package with:

sudo apt install ./cputty_1.1.1_amd64.deb

Notes

• The Linux binaries and packages were built on Debian 13 (glibc 2.41, GTK 3) and need an equally recent distribution.
• Window placement and Arrange windows need an X11 session on Linux; under Wayland, the desktop decides where windows go.
• The Windows executables are not code-signed, so Windows SmartScreen may warn on first run. The Windows build has been tested under Wine, not yet on real Windows.
• This is a modified version of PuTTY and is not supported by the PuTTY developers. Licence: MIT (see LICENCE).