First SSH connection to your VPS

After your HolyCloud Linux VPS is delivered, the first step is to connect via SSH (Secure Shell) to administer the server remotely. This tutorial covers retrieving access from the customer area, connecting from Linux, macOS, or Windows, and the most common errors.

Prerequisites

• Active HolyCloud VPS (Ubuntu or Debian recommended)
• Public IPv4 address of the VPS (shown in the HolyCloud panel)
• Credentials: initial root password or SSH key provided at order time
• On your workstation: OpenSSH client (ssh on the command line) or PuTTY / Windows Terminal on Windows
• Port 22/TCP open (default); check the HolyCloud firewall if the connection fails

Tip: Note the IP and change the root password as soon as the first connection succeeds (passwd).

Step 1: Retrieve information from the customer area

1. Log in at https://www.holycloud.fr → Customer area → your VPS.
2. Note the IP address, username (often root on first delivery), and password, or import the SSH key if you generated one at order time.
3. If a HolyCloud network firewall is active, allow TCP 22 from your personal IP (or temporarily from 0.0.0.0/0 for the first access, then restrict).

Step 2: First connection with password (Linux / macOS)

Replace IP_DU_VPS with the address shown in the panel:

ssh root@IP_DU_VPS

When asked « Are you sure you want to continue connecting », type yes then the root password (nothing appears as you type: this is normal).

Explicit connection on port 22:

ssh -p 22 root@IP_DU_VPS

Step 3: First connection with SSH key

If you provided a public key to HolyCloud, the private key must stay on your machine (never on the VPS):

chmod 600 ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 root@IP_DU_VPS

Generate a key pair if you do not have one yet:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "admin@holycloud-vps" -f ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

Copy the ssh-ed25519 AAAA... line into the HolyCloud panel (reinstall or SSH keys section depending on the offer), then reconnect with -i.

Step 4: Windows (PowerShell or CMD)

OpenSSH is included in recent Windows 10/11:

ssh root@IP_DU_VPS

With a key:

ssh -i $env:USERPROFILE\.ssh\id_ed25519 root@IP_DU_VPS

Graphical alternative: PuTTY — host = IP, port 22, SSH session type, then login root + password.

Step 5: Secure immediately after the first session

Once connected:

passwd
whoami
hostname
uname -a

Create a non-root administrator user (see the « Create a sudo user » tutorial) before disabling root login:

adduser deploy
usermod -aG sudo deploy
mkdir -p /home/deploy/.ssh
chmod 700 /home/deploy/.ssh

Step 6: Save the host in ~/.ssh/config (optional)

On your local machine:

nano ~/.ssh/config

Host holycloud-vps
    HostName IP_DU_VPS
    User root
    Port 22
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

Then:

ssh holycloud-vps

Verification

On the VPS, after connecting:

whoami
id
last -n 5
ss -tlnp | grep ':22'

From your workstation:

ssh -v root@IP_DU_VPS 2>&1 | tail -20

A successful connection shows a shell (root@votre-hostname:~#) and whoami returns root (or your user).

HolyCloud support

• Connection timed out: Wrong IP, VPS stopped, or firewall (HolyCloud / UFW) blocking port 22 — check service status in the panel
• Permission denied (publickey): Password disabled on the server; use the correct -i key or reset access via the « Reset root password » tutorial
• Host key verification failed: IP reused after reinstall — ssh-keygen -R IP_DU_VPS on your workstation
• HolyCloud support: Provide the VPS IP, exact error message, and ssh -v output (without password)