Installing OpenSSH Server on Windows Manually (No Need Windows Features)

Ever tried installing OpenSSH Server from Windows Features, only to be met with endless errors or an installation that just won’t complete? Yeah, same here. I wasted way too much time clicking “Install,” watching it pretend to work, and then, bam: nothing.

So, I had to go the manual route. And guess what? It actually worked.

KituTech — Before we dive into my frustration-fueled installation journey of OpenSSH server on my Windows 10 PC, let’s get the basics straight.

OpenSSH Server allows you to remotely access your Windows machine via SSH (Secure Shell). It’s handy for remote management, automation, and secure file transfers. Think of it as your secret backdoor (but, like, a secure one) into your system.

Windows 10 and 11 come with OpenSSH built-in, and you’re supposed to be able to install it through Windows Features or PowerShell. But when that doesn’t work, well, you’re here for a reason.

Couldn't make OpenSSH server installed with Windows Features

On my Windows 10 Pro machine, the OpenSSH Server package just refused to install. Windows Features that sits on our Settings acted like it was doing something, but after a reboot, nothing. PowerShell’s Add-WindowsCapability command? Nope. Same story.

After scouring forums and trying every suggested fix (including the classic “Have you tried turning it off and on again?”), finally I found the way to install and run OpenSSH server on my Windows PC without relying Windows Features feature.

My environments:

Device: Advan Vanbook W80, Intel Atom Bay Trail processor, 1 GB RAM.
Operating system: Windows 10 22H2 32-bit.

Installing OpenSSH Server manually and running it on Windows PC

Download OpenSSH server package zip for Windows from the Win32-OpenSSH GitHub page. Make sure to download the right one according to our device's processor architecture, the zip one, not the executable one. For convenience, I provided the links at the end of this post.
Extract the the OpenSSH Server package zip on our Windows PC. We will get a folder named "OpenSSH-XXXX" (depends on the version we downloaded based on our device processor) contains the OpenSSH Server package files, rename the folder to OpenSSH.
Move the OpenSSH folder to C:\Program Files\. We need administrator rights access for this.
Launch Windows PowerShell app in admin mode. Handy shortcut: Right click on Windows icon on the taskbar, then click "Window PowerShell (Admin)".
In Windows PowerShell, change directory to the C:\Program Files\OpenSSH. You can execute this command:
```
cd "C:\Program Files\OpenSSH"
```
Still on PowerShell, now execute the command to register the OpenSSH Server services on our Windows PC:
```
powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File install-sshd.ps1
```
Starting the OpenSSH Service. Launch Windows Services Graphical User Interface (GUI), we can do this easily by doing right click on the Windows icon on the taskbar, click "Run", then type services.msc on the Run dialog.
Making the OpenSSH Server run everytime we boot our Windows PC. On the Windows Services GUI, scroll down and find "OpenSSH SSH Server." Right click on the OpenSSH SSH Server → Properties, then change the Startup type to Automatic, click OK.
Again, right click on OpenSSH SSH Server on the Windows Services GUI, then click Start to run the OpenSSH Server service. We should see "Running" on the status column of it.

Adding `sshd` to Windows Firewall exception

Launch Windows' Control Panel. Again, we can right click on Window's icon on the taskbar and open Run dialog, then type control.
From Control Panel home, click System and Security → "Allow an app through Windows Firewall" (under Windows Defender Firewall section).
Click Change Settings button on the top, then click "Allow another app…" button on the bottom.
Click Browse button on the "Add an app" window, then navigate to C:\Program Files\OpenSSH and select sshd.exe.
Back to "Add an app" window again, click "Add". After making sure sshd.exe is on the list with checked box, click OK on the bottom to close the Control Panel.

Now Try to login to our Windows PC's IP address through the SSH protocol from other device, use our Windows PC's username and password as the SSH login credentials, for example ssh MyUsername@XXX.XXX.XXX (where XXX.XXX.XX is your Windows PC IP address on your shared network for example).

Once I got OpenSSH Server running on my Windows 10 PC, everything worked perfectly. I could SSH into my machine from anywhere, run commands remotely, and transfer files securely.

Mostly, I use to SSH-ing my windows PC from my Android phone to transfer files conveniently and to run commands from Termux app where my Windows PC became development server.

Honestly, I should’ve skipped the Windows Features nonsense from the start. If you’re in the same boat, save yourself the headache and just install it manually. Hope this helps!