SSH. SFTP. WSL.One workspace.
A free Windows SSH client with a MobaXterm-style session manager, encrypted credential vault, xterm-compatible terminal, SFTP side-pane, WSL tabs, and X11 forwarding.
Why ezTerm?
The SSH client landscape on Windows has been stuck for a decade.
Paying for an SSH client?
MobaXterm Professional, SecureCRT, and Termius Pro all charge per user per year for features that should be table stakes.
Tired of switching between SSH, SFTP, and WSL apps?
PuTTY for SSH, WinSCP for SFTP, Windows Terminal for WSL — three apps, three configs, three keychains. ezTerm puts them in one workspace.
Worried about where your SSH keys live?
Plain-text key files on disk and reused passphrases in your password manager are an audit finding waiting to happen.
Need to run remote GUI apps from Windows?
X11 forwarding usually means installing VcXsrv separately, configuring DISPLAY, and praying. ezTerm bundles VcXsrv and wires it up automatically.
Everything in One Window.
No Subscriptions.
SSH, SFTP, WSL, local shells, X11 — all in the same workspace.
SSH, WSL, and Local Shells
SSH over russh with password, key, or SSH-agent auth. Native WSL tabs via ConPTY (wsl.exe interop just works). Local cmd/PowerShell/pwsh tabs.
xterm.js Terminal
Full 16-colour + 256-colour + 24-bit truecolor (TERM=xterm-256color). Find with regex, per-session font and scrollback, Ctrl+wheel zoom with live channel resize.
Encrypted Credential Vault
Master password through Argon2id KDF. Every secret sealed with ChaCha20-Poly1305 AEAD, stored in SQLite, zeroised in memory after use.
SFTP Side-Pane
Docked on the active SSH tab. Breadcrumb navigation, right-click context menu, drag-drop upload from Explorer with 32 KiB streaming chunks and live progress.
X11 Forwarding (Bundled)
Windows release ships VcXsrv in a vcxsrv/ subfolder. Tick "Forward X11" on an SSH session and remote GUI apps (xeyes, gedit, JetBrains tools) pop as native Windows windows.
MobaXterm Import
Point at a .mxtsessions export or MobaXterm.ini. SSH + WSL rows import with folder structure intact. Private-key files are read off disk and stored as encrypted vault credentials.
Windows-First, Cross-Platform
Full feature set on Windows. SSH and SFTP on Linux and macOS.
Built on Trusted Primitives
ezTerm vs. The Rest
| Feature | ezTerm Free (GPLv3) | MobaXterm Free / $69+/user | PuTTY Free | Termius Free / $10+/user/mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SSH Sessions | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SFTP | Side-Pane | Side-Pane | Separate (WinSCP) | Yes |
| WSL Tabs | Native Tabs | Yes | No | No |
| X11 Forwarding | Bundled VcXsrv | Included | Manual | No |
| Encrypted Vault | Argon2id + ChaCha20 | Pro Only | No | Cloud Sync (Pro) |
| MobaXterm Import | MobaXterm Direct | Native | No | Limited |
| License | GPLv3 | Proprietary | MIT | Proprietary |
| Cost | $0 | $0-69/yr | $0 | $0-120/yr |
Replace MobaXterm. For Free.
Download ezTerm, import your existing .mxtsessions file, and keep working — with your credentials in a real encrypted vault.