Create a sudo user

On a HolyCloud Linux VPS, initial access is often as root via password or key provided at provisioning. For production, create a personal admin user, enable sudo, and set up key authentication before restricting root login.

Prerequisites

• A HolyCloud Linux VPS (Ubuntu 22.04/24.04 or Debian 12) with root SSH access
• Your local SSH public key (~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub or id_rsa.pub)
• An open SSH session: do not close root until the new user is tested
• Optional: snapshot from the HolyCloud customer area before major changes

Tip: always keep a root session open during migration; an SSH key mistake can lock you out.

Step 1: create the user

Replace admin with your chosen name (lowercase, no spaces).

adduser admin

Answer the prompts (strong password recommended). On recent Debian/Ubuntu, the account is created with a home directory and primary group.

Step 2: grant sudo rights

usermod -aG sudo admin

Check group membership:

groups admin

The sudo group (Ubuntu/Debian) or wheel (some other distros) allows privilege elevation.

Step 3: configure SSH key authentication

From your local machine, copy your public key (use the IP shown in the HolyCloud customer area):

ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub admin@VOTRE_IP_VPS

Or manually on the server (connected as root):

mkdir -p /home/admin/.ssh
chmod 700 /home/admin/.ssh
nano /home/admin/.ssh/authorized_keys
chmod 600 /home/admin/.ssh/authorized_keys
chown -R admin:admin /home/admin/.ssh

Paste one line per public key (ssh-ed25519 AAAA...).

Step 4: test login and sudo

Without closing the root session, open a new terminal:

ssh admin@VOTRE_IP_VPS
sudo whoami

Output should be root. If sudo asks for a password, enter admin's password.

Step 5: harden SSH (disable root — after testing)

Once admin + SSH key work, edit SSH config:

sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config

Set (or add):

PermitRootLogin no
PasswordAuthentication no
PubkeyAuthentication yes

Reload the service:

sudo systemctl reload sshd

Important: if you disable PasswordAuthentication without a valid key for admin, you will lose access. Test a second SSH session first.

Verification

id admin
sudo -l -U admin
grep -E '^(PermitRootLogin|PasswordAuthentication)' /etc/ssh/sshd_config

• admin is in the sudo group
• SSH as admin works with the key
• Direct root@IP login is refused after PermitRootLogin no

Need help?

• Root password reset: VNC/KVM console or reinstall from the customer area
• IP or firewall: check rules in the HolyCloud panel and that port 22 (or your custom SSH port) is allowed
• Support: ticket from the customer area with VPS ID and logs (journalctl -u ssh -n 50)