How to Connect to a Vultr Cloud Compute Instance Using SSH

OpenSSH is a connection protocol that enables SSH access to an instance. It is pre-installed and active on Vultr Cloud Compute instances by default to enable secure connections.

Follow this guide to connect to a Vultr Cloud Compute instance using SSH on your workstation.

Connect to an Instance Using the Default User Credentials

1. Open your instance's management page.

2. Note the default credentials within the Overview tab and copy the user password to your clipboard.

   

3. Open a new terminal or command prompt application on your workstation.

4. Connect to your Vultr Cloud Compute instance using SSH.

   console Copy

   $ ssh username@SERVER-IP
   

5. Enter yes and press ENTER when prompted to add the instance's public key to your known hosts.

   The authenticity of host '192.0.2.123 (192.0.2.123)' can't be established.
   ED25519 key fingerprint is SHA256:gTAOuCiCa3Us4tpVaVHVk9d3qOjKrsqXPOsAFQbB8xw.
   This key is not known by any other names
   Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no/[fingerprint])?

6. Enter your instance user's password when prompted and press ENTER to log in.

   username@SERVER-IP's password:

7. View the active user in your SSH session.

   console Copy

   $ whoami
   

Connect to an Instance Using SSH Keys

1. Open a new terminal or command prompt application on your workstation.

2. Connect to your Vultr Cloud Compute instance using a specific SSH key on your workstation.

   console Copy

   $ ssh -i /path/to/private/key username@SERVER-IP
   

3. Enter yes and press ENTER when prompted to add the instance's public key to your known hosts.

   The authenticity of host '192.0.2.123 (192.0.2.123)' can't be established.
   ED25519 key fingerprint is SHA256:gTAOuCiCa3Us4tpVaVHVk9d3qOjKrsqXPOsAFQbB8xw.
   This key is not known by any other names
   Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no/[fingerprint])? yes

4. View the active user in your SSH session.

   console Copy

   $ whoami