Servers
What to have ready
The five details you need before adding a server, and exactly where to find each one.
Adding a server takes two minutes if you have these details in front of you. Collecting them is usually the slow part, so do it first.
The five things
1. The address of the server
An IP address such as 167.99.12.34, or a domain that already points at that
server such as example.com.
Where to find it: log into your hosting company's website (DigitalOcean, Hetzner, Linode, Vultr, OVH, Contabo, GoDaddy…) and open the server. The IP is on the overview page. It is also in the welcome email they sent when you first bought it.
2. The username
Almost always root on a fresh server from a hosting company.
Exceptions you may meet:
- Ubuntu servers on AWS use
ubuntu. - Amazon Linux uses
ec2-user. - Debian images on some hosts use
adminordebian. - If a developer set the server up for you, they may have made a user with your company's name.
If you get it wrong the connection test will say "The server refused this username and password" — try the alternatives above.
3. How you log in: a password or a key
A password — the root password. It was in the welcome email, or you set it when you created the server. If you have lost it, nearly every hosting company has a Reset root password button in their dashboard.
A key file — a file named something like id_rsa, id_ed25519 or
something.pem. Hosting companies that never email you a password give you one
of these instead. If you have one, read SSH keys
before you continue — there is one common mistake and that page prevents it.
Do not have either? You cannot add the server yet. Use your hosting company's dashboard to reset the root password, or ask whoever built the server for the key file.
4. The SSH port — only if it is unusual
Nearly always 22, and the form assumes 22. Only change it if your host told you a different number, or your developer hardened the server and moved it.
5. A name you will recognise
Not technical — just what you will call it in the list. Shop website,
Client A production, Mail server. You can change it later.
Things that can block a connection
Worth checking before you blame the form:
- The server is powered off. Look at your hosting dashboard.
- A firewall is blocking SSH. Some hosts and some setups only allow SSH from certain addresses. It must allow connections on port 22 (or your port) from the internet for us to reach it.
- The server only accepts keys, not passwords. Common on AWS and on security-hardened servers. Their dashboard or your developer will say so.
What we do with what you type
Your password or key is encrypted before it is stored and is only ever decrypted on our server, at the moment it is making the connection you asked for. It is never sent back to your browser and it is never shown to the AI model. Detail: How we protect your credentials.