As a long-time PuTTY user, I've hit the same wall many sysadmins encounter - the flat alphabetical session list becomes unmanageable beyond a certain scale. When you're managing dozens of servers across multiple clients or projects, you need proper hierarchical organization.

Here are the top alternatives that solve this specific pain point:

1. MobaXterm (Recommended)

MobaXterm's session manager supports nested folders and tabs. Example session structure:

Projects/
├── ACME/
│   ├── switch01 (SSH)
│   ├── switch02 (SSH)
│   └── router (Telnet)
└── RandCorp/
    ├── mailserver (SFTP)
    └── webserver (RDP)

2. Termius

Termius offers cloud-synced hierarchical organization with tags and groups:

{
  "groups": [
    {
      "name": "ACME",
      "hosts": [
        {"name": "switch01", "address": "10.0.1.1"},
        {"name": "switch02", "address": "10.0.1.2"}
      ]
    }
  ]
}

For power users, consider scripting your session management. Here's a PowerShell example to generate MobaXterm sessions:

# Generate MobaXterm sessions from CSV
$sessions = Import-Csv .\servers.csv
foreach ($s in $sessions) {
    $iniContent = @"
[Bookmarks]
SubRep=\$($s.Group)
ImgNum=41
Name=$($s.Name)
Host=$($s.IP)
"@
    Add-Content -Path "MobaXterm.ini" -Value $iniContent
}

When switching from PuTTY:

• Export PuTTY sessions using Registry exports
• Check for SSH key compatibility (some clients use different formats)
• Verify proxy and tunneling configurations

After years of using PuTTY, many Windows developers (myself included) hit the same pain point - an unwieldy alphabetical list of saved sessions that makes finding specific connections inefficient. We need proper folder-based organization, especially when managing multiple client environments or server clusters.

Here are the best SSH clients that solve this organizational challenge:

// Sample configuration structure in MobaXterm
{
  "ACME": {
    "network_devices": ["switch01", "switch02", "router"],
    "servers": ["web01", "db01"]
  },
  "RandCorp": {
    "production": ["mail01", "web-prod"],
    "staging": ["web-stage"]
  }
}

Features:

• Drag-and-drop session organization
• Tabbed interface with split-screen
• Built-in X11 server and network tools

For teams needing:

• Session sharing capabilities
• Advanced scripting (Python, VBScript)
• Credential management integration

# SecureCRT Python script example for bulk operations
for session in folder.get_sessions():
    if session.hostname.startswith("ACME"):
        session.connect()
        session.send("show version\n")

For those wanting to stay close to PuTTY:

• Session filters and folders
• Better tab management
• Portable version available

When switching from PuTTY:

1. Export your PuTTY sessions using registry export
2. Use conversion scripts for bulk imports
3. Consider organizing by both client AND environment (dev/stage/prod)

@echo off
:: Batch script to export PuTTY sessions
reg export HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SimonTatham\PuTTY putty_sessions.reg

Power users should evaluate:

• API support for CI/CD integration
• CLI options for headless operations
• Configuration-as-code capabilities