How to import PuTTY sessions from a settings file

Importing saved PuTTY sessions restores connection profiles after migrating to a new Windows PC, recovering from a profile reset, or deploying a standard set of connection presets across multiple machines.

PuTTY stores saved sessions in the Windows Registry under the current user, and the common “settings file” format is a .reg export of the sessions registry key. Importing that .reg file merges the exported session entries back into the registry so they show up in the Saved Sessions list.

A registry merge can overwrite existing sessions with the same name and can change unrelated settings if extra keys are included in the file. Portable PuTTY configured to store settings in an ini file (such as putty.ini) does not use registry-based session imports, so the export format and import behavior can differ.

Related: How to save PuTTY sessions to a settings file
Related: How to restore the Windows registry from a backup

Steps to import PuTTY sessions from a .reg file:

  1. Close PuTTY if it is running.
  2. Open the .reg session file in Notepad for review.

    Only import .reg files from trusted sources.

  3. Confirm the file only contains keys under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SimonTatham\PuTTY\Sessions. 
    Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SimonTatham\PuTTY\Sessions\example%20session]
"HostName"="ssh.example.net"
"PortNumber"=dword:00000016

    Session names in registry exports are URL-encoded, so spaces commonly appear as 20 in key names.

  4. Open the Run dialog (Win+R).
  5. Enter regedit and click OK.
  6. Browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SimonTatham\PuTTY\Sessions in Registry Editor.
  7. Right-click Sessions and select Export.
  8. Save the export to a backup .reg file.

    Restoring a backup uses the same merge flow as an import.

  9. Double-click the provided .reg file to merge the sessions into the registry.

    Imported session entries replace existing sessions with the same name.

  10. Confirm the Registry Editor prompt to apply the changes.
  11. Launch PuTTY.
  12. Select Session in PuTTY and check that the imported entries appear under Saved Sessions.

    If sessions do not appear, re-check the root key in the file and confirm the import was run under the intended Windows user account.

  13. Select an imported session and click Load to verify the profile fields populate.