Connect to a server

You reach a cloud server in two ways. SSH is a secure command-line connection from your own computer, signed in with an SSH key. The browser console shows the server’s screen and keyboard in Lighthouse, which helps when SSH doesn’t answer.

Connect over SSH

1. Open the server’s page. See Manage a cloud server.
2. On the Overview tab, find Server Access.
3. Under Connect Via SSH, select Copy SSH command. The line under it shows the image’s default user, for example Default user: ubuntu.
4. Paste the command in a terminal on your computer and press Enter. Your SSH client uses your private key.

Installed SSH Keys lists the keys put on the server, for example laptop-2026 for ubuntu. Keys pasted at deploy show as a count of pasted keys.

If the card says the address is private, the server has no public address. Connect from another server on the same network, or give it a floating IP. See Assign a floating IP. New servers also block inbound traffic: if SSH times out, check your address is allowed in Firewall Groups.

Open the browser console

1. Select Console in the server’s header, or Open Console under Browser Console.
2. Wait for Connecting to the Console…. The console window shows the server’s screen.
3. Type in the window. Every key goes to the server, including Escape.

The console window has these controls:

• Send Ctrl+Alt+Del sends that key combination after you confirm. Most Linux servers restart when they receive it.
• Extra Keys gives you Ctrl, Esc, Tab and the arrow keys for a phone or tablet.
• Paste Text types text on the server one key at a time, as on a US keyboard. Type the text, then select Type Text.
• Scale to Fit, Fullscreen and Open in New Window change how the screen shows.
• Close Console closes it.

The console opens only while the server is running or in recovery mode. On a stopped server, start it first.

Install SSH keys on a running server

Use this to add a key for a new person, or to replace keys you no longer trust. Linux servers only.

1. Under Server Access, select Install SSH Keys.
2. Tick the keys to install from your SSH keys.
3. Under How To Install, choose Add To Existing Keys to keep the keys already on the server, or Replace All Existing Keys so only the keys you choose work.
4. In Login User, leave it empty for the default user, or type a user that already exists on the server.
5. Select Install SSH Keys (or Replace SSH Keys).

The server goes offline for about a minute while it restarts into maintenance mode, then starts again. A stopped server starts in maintenance mode, then shuts down again. You see Installing SSH Keys… in the status, then the key appears under Installed SSH Keys.

With Replace All Existing Keys, anyone who signs in as that user with another key loses access. Make sure you hold the private key of a key you chose.

Download the console log

The console log is the text the server printed while starting, which helps find a failed boot.

1. Select More, then Download Console Log.
2. Your browser saves the file.

A stopped server has no console log.

If something goes wrong

• Console Not Available Yet means the browser console isn’t switched on for these servers yet. Use SSH in the meantime.
• Couldn’t Reach the Console or a blank window can mean your browser doesn’t trust the console’s certificate yet. Select Open in New Window, accept the certificate there, then select Reconnect. Use the Basic Viewer is another option.
• The Console Disconnected means the connection closed. Select Reconnect.
• SSH keys can’t be installed on a Windows server that’s already deployed. Add them at deploy instead.
• We can’t tell this server’s default user. Enter the login user and try again. Fill in Login User.

Repair a server in recovery mode

Recovery mode starts a small repair system in place of the server’s own operating system. The server’s own disk is attached as a second disk, so you can fix files on it. Use it when a server no longer starts, or when you are locked out.

Enter recovery mode

1. Open the server’s page, then select More and Enter Recovery Mode.
2. Read the box. The server stops, then starts the recovery system. It is unavailable until you exit recovery mode.
3. Confirm.

A Recovery Password box opens once. Copy the password with Copy, then select Done. We don’t keep it. Sign in with the server’s SSH key first: the recovery system may not use this password.

The status changes to Recovery Mode, and the page shows This Server Is in Recovery Mode.

Repair the server

1. Connect over SSH or open the console, as described at the top of this page.
2. Find the server’s own disk. It shows as the second disk.
3. Mount it, fix what you need, then unmount it.

Exit recovery mode

1. Select Exit Recovery Mode on the banner or in More.
2. Confirm.

The recovery system is switched off, and the server starts from its own disk again. It ends Running, even if it was stopped before.

Reset the root password

Use this when you lost the root password of a Linux server. Root is the server’s administrator account.

1. Keep this browser tab open until the end: the new password appears only here.
2. Select More, then Reset Root Password.
3. Read the box. The server restarts into maintenance mode while a new root password is set, then starts again from its own disk. It’s unavailable for about a minute. A stopped server is started for this, then shut down again.
4. Confirm.

The status shows Resetting Root Password… with its steps. When it ends, New Root Password shows the password once. Copy it with Copy, then select Done. The old root password no longer works.

This works on Linux servers only. On an encrypted or LVM disk nothing is changed, and the old password keeps working.

If something goes wrong

• Not available for Windows servers. applies to Reset Root Password.
• The server couldn’t be switched to recovery mode. Nothing was changed. Your old root password still works.
• If you closed or reloaded the tab during a reset, the password can’t be shown. Wait for the reset to end, then reset again to get a new one.
• If the server couldn’t be shut down again after a reset, it’s left running. Shut it down yourself if you need to.