OpenSSH

Spec sheet

Purpose

OpenSSH provides encrypted connectivity for remote login and remote file transfers using the SSH protocol.Read 11 Oct 2026 · openssh.org

Platforms

The portable release is designed for Unix systems including Linux and macOS, as well as Cygwin, and says more systems are being added.Read 11 Oct 2026 · openssh.org

License

The project says its source is freely available, has no restrictive license, and may be used for commercial purposes.Read 11 Oct 2026 · openssh.org

Founded

1999Read 23 Sep 2026 · openssh.org

Authentication

Listed authentication methods include public keys, one-time passwords, and, in the portable release, Kerberos.Read 11 Oct 2026 · openssh.org

Compatibility limit

Interoperability is a goal but not a promise; older protocols, ciphers, key types, and other options with known weaknesses are routinely disabled.Read 11 Oct 2026 · openssh.org

Compression

OpenSSH can optionally compress data before encryption to improve performance on slow network links.Read 11 Oct 2026 · openssh.org

Current release

The project homepage states that OpenSSH 10.6 was released October 6, 2026.Read 11 Oct 2026 · openssh.org

Encryption

It offers cryptography including AES, ChaCha20, RSA, ECDSA, and Ed25519, and starts encryption before authentication.Read 11 Oct 2026 · openssh.org

File transfer

OpenSSH includes SFTP client and server support.Read 11 Oct 2026 · openssh.org

Key handling

Agent forwarding lets a local authentication agent hold keys without storing them on other machines in the network, and OpenSSH adds path-based restrictions on key use.Read 11 Oct 2026 · openssh.org

Security process

OpenSSH says it is developed using the security process of the OpenBSD group and provides a private developers list for reporting security issues.Read 11 Oct 2026 · openssh.org

Suite tools

The suite includes tools for remote operations, key management, and server-side SSH services, including ssh, scp, sftp, ssh-keygen, sshd, and ssh-agent.Read 11 Oct 2026 · openssh.org

Support and bug reports

Portable OpenSSH bugs can be reported through the project's problem-report channels; issues in vendor-modified copies should generally be reported to the vendor unless reproducible in unmodified OpenSSH.Read 11 Oct 2026 · openssh.org

Tunneling

Port forwarding carries TCP/IP connections over an encrypted channel, and X11 forwarding encrypts X Window System traffic.Read 11 Oct 2026 · openssh.org

Plans and prices

Every OpenSSH plan and price →

Where Specifiction places it

• SSH Clients#11 of 338.0
• SSH Server Software#16 of 347.9