Root or no root

Root (the default)

• You sign in as root with your SSH key. Password sign-in is off.
• No key yet? We set a random root password and show it once. Add a key in the console and password sign-in turns off again.
• You can install and change anything. Installs from the console keep working too.

No root

• You sign in as your own user (you choose the name, app by default) with your SSH key. A key is required.
• You don't have root or sudo. Root sign-in and passwords are off.
• No-root servers are managed by us: installs, updates and service changes are done for you from the console.
• Good for teams that want a server without having to look after the operating system.

Before a no-root server is created, the order form asks you to confirm:

No root access on this server. You'll sign in as your user with your SSH key. You won't have root or sudo, and you can't install system packages yourself. Installs, updates and service changes are done for you from the console. You can ask for root later; going back to no root then needs a rebuild of the server.

Switching

• No root to root: ask from the server's page in the console. Your key is added to root and nothing else changes.
• Root to no root: needs a rebuild of the server, because we can't vouch for a server that had root. Back up your data first.

Shared servers

Shared servers always work like no root: your own user, your key, no sudo. See shared servers.