Guide

How to import saved sessions from PuTTY, MobaXterm, SecureCRT, CSV and SSH config

If you've looked after servers for a while, your connections are probably saved somewhere already: sessions in PuTTY, bookmarks in MobaXterm, a SecureCRT sessions folder, a spreadsheet, or Host entries in your SSH config. Typing them all in again is nobody's idea of fun.

The RemoteAccessApp app for Windows reads those files and shows you everything it found in one list before anything is added. You tick what you want, choose where it goes, and it never imports a saved password.

  • A preview before anything is added
  • No duplicates on a second import
  • Passwords are never imported

Updated · Works on Windows 10 and 11

Import your saved sessions

  1. Step 1: Open the import menu

    In the RemoteAccessApp app, open the Connections page and click the arrow next to Add host. Point to Import from file.

  2. Step 2: Choose where your sessions are

    Pick the entry that matches what you have:

    • PuTTY sessions on this PC reads the sessions saved for your Windows account.
    • SecureCRT sessions folder… opens SecureCRT's Sessions folder, or lets you pick another.
    • SSH config file (~/.ssh/config) reads your own SSH config.
    • Choose a file… for anything else: a PuTTY .reg export, MobaXterm's MobaXterm.ini or a .mxtsessions export, a SecureCRT XML export, a CSV file, an SSH config file or an .rdp file. The app works out what kind of file it is.
  3. Step 3: Check the preview

    The import window lists every host it found with its type, address, folder and a status: New, Already saved, Saved · will update or Listed twice. Anything it left out is explained in a note. Tick the hosts you want, or use Tick all, Only new or None.

  4. Step 4: Choose folders, duplicates and keys

    Imported hosts go in a folder called Imported, or tick Keep the folders from the file. Under Hosts already saved, choose Skip them (the default), Update them or Add them again. Tick Import the key files these sessions use to add each key file to your key list once (you're asked for its passphrase if it has one).

  5. Step 5: Import

    The button says what will happen, such as Import 4 hosts or Import 2 · update 5. Click it, and the hosts appear on the Connections page, ready to open.

What's imported from each source

PuTTY

From this PC's registry (only read, never changed) or a .reg export: SSH sessions with their host, port, user name, .ppk key file and any HTTP, SOCKS4 or SOCKS5 proxy (without the proxy's password), and serial sessions with their COM port, speed, data bits, parity, stop bits and flow control. Default Settings is skipped. Telnet, Rlogin and raw sessions are left out with a note, and port forwardings aren't imported.

MobaXterm

From MobaXterm.ini or a .mxtsessions export: SSH, SFTP, FTP, Remote Desktop, VNC and serial bookmarks, in their folders, with SSH key file paths. Serial bookmarks bring their port and speed, so check the line settings after importing. Other bookmark types, such as Telnet, Mosh or WSL, are left out with a note.

SecureCRT

From a Sessions folder of .ini files (subfolders become folders) or an XML export: SSH sessions with their host, port, user name and identity file, and serial sessions. Telnet, Rlogin, TAPI and raw sessions are left out with a note.

SSH config

Each Host entry with its HostName, User, Port and IdentityFile (offered for key import). Include lines are followed. Patterns like Host * aren't hosts, and Match blocks are skipped with a note.

A CSV file

Any spreadsheet saved as CSV, with a header row, separated by commas, semicolons or tabs. Choose Save a CSV template… in the same menu for a file with these columns and an example of each kind of host:

name,host,port,username,protocol,group,tags,notes

Columns are matched by common names too, such as Host Name, Address or IP for the host, and Folder or Path for the group. If one is matched wrongly, change it in the import window and the list updates. A domain and a keyfile column are read too.

  • protocol can be ssh, sftp, ftp, ftps, rdp, vnc or serial; empty means SSH. For serial, the host is the COM port and the port column is the speed.
  • host can include the user and port, as in deploy@web1:2222, and a user like OFFICE\alex is split into domain and user for Remote Desktop.
  • Rows with no address are skipped and counted. Notes show in the preview but aren't saved, because hosts have no notes field.

What's never imported

  • Passwords. Password fields in any of these files are ignored, and the import tells you. You're asked for a password the first time you connect, or you can switch the host to a key.
  • Jump hosts. A session that goes through a jump host, gateway or firewall (ProxyJump in an SSH config, for example) is imported as a direct connection with a note on it. The app's proxy support is HTTP and SOCKS, so recreate the route another way if you need it. See SSH through a proxy.
  • Port forwardings and session types the app doesn't have, such as Telnet.

Nothing is changed at the source

The import only reads. Your registry, session folders and files stay exactly as they were, so you can keep using them side by side while you move over. A damaged or unrelated file doesn't break anything: the app says it found nothing to import.

Importing again later

Hosts are matched on their type, address, port and user name, so a second import shows what you already have as Already saved. With Update them, a saved host takes the address, port, user and folder from the file; its saved password and key stay. That makes it easy to keep a shared CSV as the list everyone imports from.

Your existing Remote Desktop and SSH connections on this PC can come in the same way: Import from this PC… in the same menu reads your SSH config, .rdp files in Documents and Windows' recent Remote Desktop list. For a short version of these steps to keep at hand, see the help article on importing saved sessions and hosts.

What it costs

Importing is free. Imported hosts are ordinary saved hosts, and the free plan has up to 5 saved hosts and web panels together, so for a bigger list, untick the rest or get Pro for unlimited hosts and end-to-end encrypted password sync. Imported hosts sync to every PC you sign in on. To start, download RemoteAccessApp; the SSH client and RDP and VNC manager pages show what the hosts can do once they're in.

Questions, answered

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