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WinSCP

Version tested: 6.3.3 Installer type: .exe official installer from winscp.net

📦 Package Managers

Manager Install Command
winget winget install WinSCP.WinSCP
Chocolatey choco install winscp
Scoop scoop install winscp

📁 Registry Paths

  • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Martin Prikryl\WinSCP 2
  • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Martin Prikryl\WinSCP 2\Configuration
  • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Martin Prikryl\WinSCP 2\Sessions
  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Martin Prikryl\WinSCP 2
  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\winscp3_is1

🔑 Keys

Installation entry (HKLM\SOFTWARE\Martin Prikryl\WinSCP 2)

Key Name Type Description
InstallDir REG_SZ Root installation directory

Global configuration (HKCU\Software\Martin Prikryl\WinSCP 2\Configuration)

Key Name Type Description
Version REG_SZ Last-used version of WinSCP
DefaultTransferMode REG_DWORD 0 = Binary, 1 = Text, 2 = Automatic
Interface\Theme REG_DWORD UI theme selection
Interface\LocalPanel REG_DWORD 1 = show local panel (Commander interface)

Saved sessions (HKCU\Software\Martin Prikryl\WinSCP 2\Sessions\<session-name>)

Key Name Type Description
HostName REG_SZ Remote server hostname or IP address
UserName REG_SZ Login username
Password REG_SZ Obfuscated (NOT encrypted) stored password
PortNumber REG_DWORD Remote port (default: 22 for SSH/SFTP)
FSProtocol REG_DWORD 0 = SFTP, 2 = SCP, 5 = FTP, 6 = WebDAV
RemoteDirectory REG_SZ Default remote path after login
Color REG_DWORD Session tab color for visual identification

Uninstall entry (HKLM\...\Uninstall\winscp3_is1)

Key Name Type Description
DisplayName REG_SZ WinSCP 6.3.3
DisplayVersion REG_SZ Installed version (e.g., 6.3.3)
InstallLocation REG_SZ Root installation directory
Publisher REG_SZ Martin Prikryl
UninstallString REG_SZ Path to the Inno Setup uninstaller

📝 Notes

  • ⚠️ Security warning: The Password value under each session is obfuscated, not encrypted. Anyone with read access to HKCU can recover stored passwords. Export or backup this key with caution.
  • WinSCP uses the registry as its primary config store (unlike most apps in this collection); exporting HKCU\Software\Martin Prikryl\WinSCP 2 is the standard way to migrate settings between machines.
  • The portable version stores all configuration in WinSCP.ini alongside the executable and does not create any registry entries.
  • SSH host key fingerprints are stored under HKCU\Software\SimonTatham\PuTTY\SshHostKeys if PuTTY is installed; otherwise WinSCP creates its own subkey for host key storage.

🗑️ Cleanup

Remove-Item -Path "HKCU:\Software\Martin Prikryl\WinSCP 2"  -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Remove-Item -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Martin Prikryl\WinSCP 2"  -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue