Setting up SSH

Setting up a new VPS?

You can add a new SSH key (or pick an existing one) directly during first time setup, before you even image your VPS. The steps below are for generating a key pair, and for adding one to a VPS that's already set up.

Generate an SSH key pair

On your own computer (not the VPS), generate a key pair if you don't already have one:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "[email protected]"

Press enter to accept the default file location, and optionally set a passphrase.

Add your public key to an existing VPS

If your VPS is already set up and you didn't add a key during initial setup, you have two options:

From the panel

Open your VPS's management page and look for an "SSH Keys" section, you can paste your public key (the contents of ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub) in there directly, no terminal required.

Manually, over SSH

Connect for the first time using the IP address and root password from your install email:

ssh root@<your-vps-ip>

Then, from your own computer, copy your key across:

ssh-copy-id root@<your-vps-ip>

If ssh-copy-id isn't available, you can instead paste the contents of your ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub file into ~/.ssh/authorized_keys on the VPS.

From your own computer, try connecting again:

ssh root@<your-vps-ip>

You should be logged in without being prompted for a password.

Disable password authentication (recommended)

Once you've confirmed key-based login works, edit /etc/ssh/sshd_config on the VPS and set:

PasswordAuthentication no

Then restart SSH:

systemctl restart sshd

Don't lock yourself out!

Only disable password authentication after you've confirmed your key works. If you lose your key and passwords are disabled, you'll need to use your panel's console/recovery tools to regain access.