Everything on a VPS that is not in a control panel happens over SSH. You need it rarely, and when you need it you need it immediately, so it is worth setting up on the first day.

With the root password

If you ordered without an SSH key, the root password arrives by email. On macOS or Linux open Terminal; on Windows open PowerShell. Then run:

ssh root@YOUR-SERVER-IP

You will be asked to confirm the server the first time, then for the password. Nothing appears as you type it — that is normal, not a frozen terminal.

With a key, which is better

A key cannot be guessed and cannot be typed into the wrong window. Create one with:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519

That writes two files. The one ending in .pub is the public half — that is what goes into the SSH key box when you order, or into /root/.ssh/authorized_keys on a server you already have. The other file, without .pub, is the private half.

Never send the private half to anybody, including us. We will never ask for it. Anyone holding it can log into your server as you.

If it refuses your key

The usual cause is the wrong file: a private key pasted where the public one belongs looks similar at a glance and never works. The public one is a single line beginning with ssh-ed25519 or ssh-rsa.

The other common cause is permissions on the server: the .ssh directory must be readable only by its owner. On the server, run:

chmod 700 /root/.ssh && chmod 600 /root/.ssh/authorized_keys

If you have lost both

The client area can rebuild the server, which reinstalls the operating system and issues a new root password. Everything on the machine is erased, so this is a last resort rather than a password reset.

Write to us before doing that. Depending on what the machine is running there may be a way to keep the data.