First SSH connection to your VPS (Windows, macOS, Linux)

You'll connect to your VPS over SSH, an encrypted remote terminal where you manage the VPS with commands. We'll also show how to upload files to the VPS over SFTP and what to do when you can't connect.

How it works#

SSH (Secure Shell) is a protocol for managing a server remotely. An SSH server runs on the VPS and listens on port 22. You start an SSH client on your computer, enter the VPS IP address, user and password, and you get a command line right on the server. Everything you type travels encrypted.

The first time, you log in to the VPS as the root user. Root is the system administrator and can do absolutely anything on the VPS, so handle it with care and never give its password to anyone.

Where to find the IP address and root password#

1. Log in to the customer area.
2. Open My services and click your VPS.
3. Go to the Network tab.
4. Copy the IPv4 address (for example 203.0.113.10).
5. Go to the Console tab. Below the power buttons there is the row “User root · Password”. Click Show next to the password and copy it with the Copy password button. It hides itself again after a minute.

After payment you also received an email “Your VPS is ready” with a ready-made connection command in the form ssh [email protected].

Connecting to the VPS#

The same command works on every system:

ssh root@<VPS_IP_ADDRESS>

• ssh – starts the SSH client.
• root – the user you log in as.
• @ – separates the user from the server address.
• <VPS_IP_ADDRESS> – the IPv4 address from the Network tab.

Replace <VPS_IP_ADDRESS> with your IP address without the angle brackets, so the result looks like this: ssh [email protected].

Server key fingerprint on the first connection#

On the very first connection, the SSH client prints roughly this:

The authenticity of host '203.0.113.10 (203.0.113.10)' can't be established.
ED25519 key fingerprint is SHA256:...
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no/[fingerprint])?

Every SSH server has its own key that the client recognizes it by. Your computer doesn't know this server yet, so it asks whether to trust it.

• Type the whole word yes and press Enter. Just y isn't enough.
• The client saves the fingerprint to the known_hosts file in the .ssh folder in your home directory and won't ask again.
• If the fingerprint changes later, the client refuses to connect with the warning REMOTE HOST IDENTIFICATION HAS CHANGED. This protects you from an impostor server. What to do about it is in the Troubleshooting section.

Entering the password#

At the [email protected]'s password: prompt, paste the root password and press Enter.

The password is long and random, so paste it from the clipboard instead of typing it by hand. Make sure you don't copy a space at the beginning or end.

What you'll see after logging in#

After a successful login, the system prints a welcome text (on Ubuntu it starts with Welcome to Ubuntu 24.04, on Debian with a line Linux and the server name) and below it a command prompt:

root@nazev-vps:~#

• root – you're logged in as root.
• nazev-vps – the VPS name (hostname).
• ~ – you're in your home directory (for root that's /root).
• # – the sign for the root user. A regular user has $ at the end.

Now you can type commands. For a start, try:

hostnamectl

• hostnamectl – prints the VPS name and the operating system and kernel versions. This confirms you're on the right server.

The most-used commands for working with files, packages, services and logs are in the Basic Linux commands guide.

Logging out#

Type exit and press Enter, or press Ctrl+D. The connection closes and you're back in your computer's terminal. Programs you started in the foreground end when you log out. Run apps that should keep running as a systemd service or in Docker (see Docker and Docker Compose).

Verification#

The connection works if:

• you see the root@…:~# prompt,
• the hostnamectl command shows Ubuntu 24.04 or Debian 13, depending on what you ordered.

Transferring files over SFTP#

SFTP is file transfer over the same SSH connection. It uses the same address, port, user and password as SSH; nothing else needs to be set up on the VPS.

Option 1: the Files tab in the customer area. Open the VPS and the Files tab. You'll find a file manager in the browser (uploads, edits, permissions). A single file can be at most 100 MB, and archives can't be extracted in the customer area. Upload bigger files with an SFTP client.

Option 2: an SFTP client on your computer. Good for large files and whole folders.

In the client, fill in:

On the first connection the SFTP client also asks about the server key fingerprint; confirm it just like with SSH.

Troubleshooting#

Connection timed out#

The client waited for a reply and got none.

1. Check the IP address. It must be the IPv4 address from the Network tab.
2. Make sure the VPS is running: in the Console tab the status must be Running. If it's off, click Start.
3. If the VPS is new, wait a few minutes for the first boot with updates to finish.
4. Check the Firewall tab. If you have the Block everything except allowed mode, there must be a rule allowing TCP port 22 (see Firewall in the customer area).
5. If you turned on the UFW firewall inside the VPS, it must have a rule for SSH. UFW silently drops blocked connections, so it shows up exactly as a timeout. Fix it through the browser console with ufw allow 22/tcp.
6. Try connecting from a different network, for example over mobile data. Some company and school networks block port 22.

Connection refused#

The server replied, but nothing accepts connections on port 22, or the connection was explicitly refused.

• The SSH service isn't running on the VPS, or you changed the SSH port. If you changed the port, connect with the -p option, for example ssh -p 2222 [email protected].
• fail2ban may have blocked your IP address after several failed logins. How to unblock it is in the Fail2ban guide.
• The Firewall tab may have a rule with the Reject action that applies to SSH.

In all cases you can get into the VPS through the browser console, which doesn't depend on the VPS network.

Permission denied, please try again.#

The server rejected the password.

• Paste the password from the clipboard and check that it has no space at the beginning or end.
• If you changed the root password with passwd, the new password applies. The Console tab (Show next to the password) still shows the password from when the VPS was created.
• After several failed attempts, fail2ban may block you (see above).

Permission denied (publickey).#

Password login is turned off on the VPS and the server accepts only an SSH key. Connect with your key as described in the SSH key guide. If you don't have the key, log in through the browser console and add a key, or temporarily allow passwords.

WARNING: REMOTE HOST IDENTIFICATION HAS CHANGED!#

The server key fingerprint is different from the one your computer remembers. That's fine if you reinstalled the VPS or restored it from a backup. Delete the old fingerprint:

ssh-keygen -R 203.0.113.10

• ssh-keygen – a tool for working with SSH keys.
• -R 203.0.113.10 – removes the stored fingerprint for this address from the known_hosts file.

Then connect again and confirm the new fingerprint with yes.

Received disconnect … Too many authentication failures#

You have several SSH keys on your computer and the client tries them all before it gets to the password. The server closes the connection after a few attempts. Force a password login:

ssh -o PubkeyAuthentication=no [email protected]

• -o PubkeyAuthentication=no – don't try SSH keys for this connection; ask for the password right away.

Windows: ssh : The term 'ssh' is not recognized#

The OpenSSH client isn't installed. Install it as described in the Windows tab above, or use PuTTY.

Further reading#

• OpenSSH for Windows (Microsoft Learn) (opens in a new window)
• PuTTY documentation (opens in a new window)
• ssh manual page (opens in a new window)