Setup & operation
How do I reset a forgotten root password?
Short answer
Use the out-of-band VNC console in the panel, reboot into single-user or rescue mode from the bootloader, remount the root filesystem read-write and run passwd. It takes about two minutes and needs no support ticket. If the disk is LUKS-encrypted and you have lost the passphrase, the data is unrecoverable by design.
The panel also offers a password reset that injects a new credential at next boot, which is faster if the instance still boots normally.
A better long-term answer is key-based authentication with a key stored in a password manager. It removes this failure mode entirely, and it is what the security guidance recommends anyway.
See also: Out-of-band console · LUKS
7 answers in Setup & operation
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