MobaXterm features
The official product is a Windows toolbox: tabbed terminal, X.org, SFTP, remote desktops and Unix commands. This page groups those MobaXterm features the way sysadmins actually look them up.
Tabbed terminal
From the console you run the Unix commands that ship in the base file: ls, cd, grep, awk, tail, cut, sed, wget, rsync, telnet, ssh, rlogin, rsh. Missing tools can be added with free plugins or with MobApt / apt-get inside the local terminal.
The SSH client is based on PuTTY, with antialiased fonts, macros and local syntax highlighting. Highlighting still works when the remote host does not send colors, which helps when you read logs. Multi-execution sends the same command to many open terminals at once (Ctrl+Shift+Insert to paste in that mode).
If a split pane blocks tab switching, return to a single pane first. That is a known layout quirk, not a missing feature. See session tips.
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Sessions management
Create SSH, Telnet, Rlogin, RDP, VNC, XDMCP, FTP, SFTP or Serial sessions. Every session you start is saved and listed in the left sidebar. Mosh is available for lossy links. From v26.4 you can right-click an SSH session and open SFTP with the same parameters, and you can move the SSH browser so the session tree and the file list stay visible together.
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Graphical SFTP browser and MobaTextEditor
When you log in with SSH, a graphical SFTP browser pops up in the left sidebar. You drag files to or from the remote host over SFTP. In v26.5, SFTP sessions can drop a remote file into a subfolder of the local file browser.
Double-click a remote file to open MobaTextEditor. Column widths in the SSH browser persist after restart (v26.4). If the panel stays empty, the remote sshd often has no SFTP subsystem. Fix a missing SFTP browser.
A "Follow terminal folder" checkbox keeps the tree in step with the shell. If you switch tabs quickly with Follow terminal on, older builds could show an empty browser. That race was called out in the v26.4 notes.
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X11 server
On SSH, Telnet or Rlogin/RSH you can display remote applications on the local Windows PC. SSH does not need a manual DISPLAY value when X11-forwarding is on. The server is X.org with OpenGL, Composite and Randr. XDMCP is included for a full remote Unix desktop.
If sudo drops your DISPLAY, or you see localhost:10.0 and think it is wrong, read the X11 guide. localhost:10.0 is normal for forwarded X11.
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Remote desktops, gateways and tunnels
RDP includes console (/admin), drive and printer redirect, clipboard, CredSSP and, in v26.5, WebAuthn redirect so Windows Hello prompts can land on the local PC. VNC gained Tight/Hextile/RRE/TRLE encodings, extra auth methods, Ctrl+wheel, and shortcut combos in 26.5.
SSH gateway (jump host) is available on SSH, Telnet, RDP and VNC. The graphical tunnels manager builds local and remote port forwards. Home Edition allows 2 saved tunnels.
If RDP or VNC is the daily driver, keep it in the same tree as SSH so credentials stay under one master password.
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Tools, plugins and portable packaging
Embedded daemons (HTTP, FTP, TFTP and others) start without extra runtimes. Home Edition stops those daemons after 360 seconds. MobApt / apt-get pulls extra Unix packages into the local terminal. Plugins are files you drop next to the exe.
Passwords can sit behind a master password. v26.4 added smart card (CryptoAPI) SSH login and a smart card manager. Macros record keystrokes; Home Edition stores 4.
The program is a single executable. No admin rights. You can start it from a USB stick. Company branding and default INI values need the Professional Customizer.
Home Edition ceilings
| Item | Home (personal, free) | Professional |
|---|---|---|
| Saved sessions | 12 | Unlimited |
| SSH tunnels | 2 | Unlimited |
| Macros | 4 | Unlimited |
| Tftp / Nfs / Cron run time | 360 seconds | Unlimited |
| Customizer (logo, welcome, profile) | No | Yes |
| Use inside a company | Not licensed | Licensed, $69 / 49€ per user |