onionvps

Setup & operation

How do I connect to a VPS with SSH?

Short answer

Run ssh root@your-server-ip from any terminal on macOS, Linux or Windows 10 and later. Use the key you supplied at provisioning, or the password emailed to you. The first connection shows a host key fingerprint — compare it against the one in the control panel before accepting it.

Add a key rather than relying on a password. Generate one with ssh-keygen -t ed25519, upload the public half at provisioning or from the panel, and the instance is built with password authentication already disabled.

If you lock yourself out — a firewall rule, a broken sshd config, a mistyped key — use the out-of-band VNC console in the panel. It attaches to the virtual serial console, so it works even with no network at all.

  • ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 [email protected]
  • Verify the host key fingerprint against the panel on first connection
  • Windows: use the built-in OpenSSH client, not PuTTY, unless you prefer it
  • Locked out: the VNC console always works

See also: Out-of-band console · Control panel · Provisioning

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