Tabby review: a modern SSH terminal for Windows that replaces PuTTY sessions
What Tabby does
Tabby, formerly Terminus, is an MIT-licensed terminal emulator built with Electron and TypeScript (https://github.com/Eugeny/tabby/blob/master/LICENSE). It speaks SSH, telnet, serial and local shells from one window, and it treats a connection as a saved profile with a name, colour, icon and startup command rather than as a throwaway dialog. Split panes can mix a local shell beside several SSH sessions, and each tab keeps its own scrollback, so a Windows administrator can watch a server log and run local commands without alt-tabbing. Because the interface is HTML and CSS, themes, colour schemes and terminal fonts are configurable far beyond what a classic Win32 console offers.
How a session actually runs
You create a profile, choose SSH, fill in host, port, user and key or password, then save it. Tabby opens the session in a tab and keeps the connection settings for next time; saved passwords live in the built-in vault, which you can clear or skip so that you type credentials per session. Port forwarding is handled from the session sidebar, where a rule maps a local port to a remote host through the SSH connection, and the SFTP panel browses the remote filesystem over the same session. Zmodem transfers, clickable links, Unicode and a configurable keyboard shortcut set are on by default. Configuration can be exported as YAML so a team can keep profiles in version control.
Settings and limits worth knowing
Tabby is an Electron application, so it idles at a few hundred megabytes of RAM, which is noticeably more than PuTTY or a native console host. Plugin support is the trade-off: a large catalogue adds Docker, Kubernetes, session logging and vault integrations, but every plugin is JavaScript loaded into the application, so you should only add ones you trust. The Windows build is a 64-bit setup executable, and an ARM64 build exists for Windows on ARM. Telnet and serial work but are secondary to SSH, and there is no built-in X11 server, so GUI forwarding still needs a separate X server such as VcXsrv.
Who should choose something else
If you want the smallest possible footprint, keep PuTTY or Windows Terminal for local shells and use Tabby only for SSH. If you need X11 forwarding or an integrated RDP client, Bitvise SSH Client and MobaXterm cover more per install. And if your environment forbids Electron applications or requires a signed enterprise package with vendor support, a commercial terminal is the safer answer. For remote work on many Linux hosts with heavy tab and pane use, Tabby is one of the few free options that feels modern.
- Best for
- System and network administrators who keep many SSH sessions open and want saved profiles, split panes and port forwarding in one free terminal.
- Good to know
- Electron based, so memory use is closer to a browser than to PuTTY. Plugins are third-party JavaScript, so install only what you trust.
How to get started
- Download the x64 setup executable from tabby.sh or the project's GitHub releases page.
- Install it and launch Tabby; the first window opens a local shell profile.
- Click the plus button, choose SSH, and enter host, port and user for one of your servers.
- Add a private key or a password, then save the profile so the session appears in the sidebar.
- Right-click a session to split the pane, or open the sidebar to add a port forwarding rule.
- Export your settings as YAML from the settings screen if you want backups or shared profiles.
Questions & answers
Does Tabby replace PuTTY?
For most SSH work, yes. It handles keys, tunnels, jump hosts and serial connections. PuTTY remains lighter if memory or an X11 server matters.
Are my saved passwords safe?
They are held in Tabby's vault, protected by the operating system's credential storage. You can also disable saving and type the password per session.
Can I use my existing PuTTY sessions?
Tabby can import them, and it can generate a PuTTY-compatible ssh:// link for other tools. Profile export to YAML covers moving between machines.
