Connect to your Linux VPS with SSH

Connect with a terminal

Have your VPS IP address and its root password at hand.

1. 1.Open a terminal: PowerShell on Windows, Terminal on macOS or Linux.
2. 2.Type ssh root@ followed by the IP address, for example ssh root@203.0.113.10, then press Enter.
3. 3.On the first connection, the terminal asks you to confirm the server fingerprint. Type yes, then Enter.
4. 4.Type the root password, then Enter. Nothing appears while you type, that is normal.
5. 5.When the line ends with #, you are connected.

SSH uses port 22 by default. If you changed it, add -p and the number: ssh -p 2222 root@203.0.113.10.

Connect with PuTTY

1. 1.Download PuTTY from its official website, install it, then open it.
2. 2.In Host Name (or IP address), enter the VPS IP address.
3. 3.Leave Port at 22, then click Open.
4. 4.At the alert about the server key, click Accept.
5. 5.At login as, type root, then the password.

Switch to an SSH key

An SSH key saves you from retyping the password and protects the VPS better.

1. 1.On your computer, create the key with ssh-keygen -t ed25519. Press Enter to keep the suggested location.
2. 2.Send it to the VPS with ssh-copy-id root@203.0.113.10 and type the password one last time.
3. 3.Reconnect with ssh root@203.0.113.10. The VPS password is no longer asked.

On Windows, ssh-copy-id does not exist. Copy the content of the id_ed25519.pub file to the end of the ~/.ssh/authorized_keys file on the VPS.

If the connection fails

Connection timed out: the IP address is probably wrong, or the VPS is not running. Check both.

Permission denied: the password is wrong. Retype it slowly, nothing shows while you type.

WARNING: REMOTE HOST IDENTIFICATION HAS CHANGED: this is normal after a VPS reinstall. Type ssh-keygen -R 203.0.113.10 (with your IP address), then reconnect.

If SSH does not respond at all, the VPS VNC console is still available from your browser.