Using the SSH Clients

The client programs ssh, scp, and sftp work just as they do on Unix:

    # Log into server.example.com as user smith
    $ ssh -l smith server.example.com

    # Copy myfile from your local machine to server.example.com
    $ scp myfile server.example.com:

    # Run an interactive file-copy session with sftp
    $ sftp server.example.com

The only bit of trickiness is locating your ~/.ssh directory via Windows. On Unix platforms, your home directory is located in an obvious place, usually /home/ yourname. And in fact, if you run a Cygwin shell, you can literally refer to /home/ yourname as well. But what if you're using a standard Windows command shell (e.g., cmd) or browsing files with Windows Explorer: how can you find your ~/.ssh directory? Simply type this command from a Windows command shell:

    C:\> cygpath -w ~
    C:\cygwin\home\smith

The cygpath command converts Cygwin paths into Windows paths, and the lone tilde (~) represents your Cygwin home directory. In this example, cygpath reveals your home directory to be C:\cygwin\home\smith. Thus, your SSH-related client files will be stored in the directory C:\cygwin\home\smith\.ssh.