Connecting to your Linux VPS over SSH
Password and key-based login from every major client, plus what to do when the host key changes.
Password login (first connection)
ssh [email protected]Accept the fingerprint prompt, then paste the password from your delivery email. Windows 10/11 include OpenSSH — use PowerShell or Terminal, no PuTTY required.
Switch to key authentication
# On your own machine
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "laptop"
ssh-copy-id [email protected]
ssh [email protected] # should not ask for a password nowThen disable password login in /etc/ssh/sshd_config with PasswordAuthentication no and sudo systemctl restart ssh. Keep a second session open until you have verified key login works.
Deploy a key at order time
The configurator has an optional SSH public key field. Paste your id_ed25519.pub there and the server is built with password login already disabled — the most secure possible starting point.
"Host key verification failed"
You will see this after a reinstall, because the server generated a new host key. It is expected in that case:
ssh-keygen -R your.server.ipIf you did not reinstall, stop and contact support before connecting — an unexpected host key change deserves investigation.
Locked out?
Every instance has an HTML5 VNC console in the client area that works even when SSH is broken, networking is misconfigured or the firewall is wrong. Use Services → your server → Console. You can also boot into single-user mode from there to reset a root password.
Did this solve your problem?
If not, open a ticket and paste the command output you got. Support is 24/7 with a 12-minute median first reply, and the same engineers maintain these pages.