Converting a ppk file to a pem file for accessing AWS ec2 instances on Linux

Yesterday , i am working on the project in which i need to access the server which is a AWS EC2 instance. Putty ppk file has been provided to me to connect it, but i need to access it on linux so i need to convert this ppk file into equivalent pem file. I tried many things, google it, but nothing is working. Although i was able to connect via Filezilla but from terminal i can`t. Finally, by Hit-n-Try method, i got the solution.
Here is a list of steps I followed to convert that PPK file into an equivalent PEM file that I could use access Ec2 instance on linux terminal via SSH –

• Install the PuTTYgen tools, if you don`t have on Linux: as-

sudo apt-get install putty-tools

• Generate the pem file run the following command: as-

puttygen ppkkey.ppk -O private-openssh -o pemkey.pem

• Place the pemkey.pem file in your ~/.ssh directory: as-

cp pemkey.pem ~/.ssh

• Set the pem file to have the proper permissions: as-

chmod 400 pemkey.pem

That’s it
Now, we have a valid pem file that we can use to connect to our EC2 instances from Linux. Below is an example:

ssh -i pemkey.pem user@ec2-instancedotcom

Similarly, if we want to convert pem file to ppk , we can do it like this –

puttygen pemKey.pem -o ppkKey.ppk -O private

#Flags:
-o Tells it where to write out the converted putty private key
-O private Tells it that you want a putty private key.

That`s it !!!
I hope it will help someone in the future.
And by someone I most likely mean by me !

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Mohit Chandra 6 Badges

Mohit Chandra is an expert Odoo developer and the Owl framework, specializing in multi-platform integration services. He excels in developing dynamic, scalable solutions that seamlessly integrate diverse systems, leveraging his deep knowledge to enhance business efficiency and drive technological innovation.

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