Connecting to your server

⏱ 8 min read 🟢 Beginner Last updated: April 2026

There are two ways to access your BareMeta server — the browser terminal (quickest, no setup required) or SSH from your local machine (more powerful, recommended for regular use).

Option 1 — Browser terminal

The fastest way to get into your server. No software to install, works from any browser.

Go to Virtual Machines in the dashboard
Find your server and click the SSH button
A terminal opens in your browser — you're in

You'll be logged in as ubuntu on Ubuntu servers. The browser terminal is fully functional — you can install software, edit files, and run any commands you'd normally run over SSH.

💡 The browser terminal is great for quick tasks. For longer sessions or file transfers, we recommend setting up SSH from your local machine.

Option 2 — SSH from your local machine

SSH (Secure Shell) is the standard way to access remote Linux servers. It gives you a faster, more reliable connection and lets you do things like transfer files.

What you need

macOS / Linux — SSH is built in. Open Terminal and you're ready.
Windows — Use Windows Terminal, PowerShell, or PuTTY. Windows 10/11 has SSH built in.

Find your server's IP address

Click the 📡 IP button on your server row in the dashboard. The IP address will be displayed — copy it.

Connect

Open a terminal and run:

ssh ubuntu@YOUR_SERVER_IP

Replace YOUR_SERVER_IP with your server's actual IP address. The first time you connect, you'll see a message about the server's fingerprint — type yes to continue.

⚠️ If you get a Permission denied (publickey) error, you need to add an SSH key to your account first. See below.

Generating an SSH key pair

SSH keys are more secure than passwords and much more convenient — you'll never need to type a password to log in. Here's how to create one.

On macOS or Linux

Open Terminal and run:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your@email.com"

When prompted for a file location, press Enter to use the default. You can optionally set a passphrase for extra security.

This creates two files:

~/.ssh/id_ed25519 — your private key (keep this safe, never share it)
~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub — your public key (this is what you add to BareMeta)

On Windows (PowerShell)

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your@email.com"

The keys are saved to C:\Users\YourName\.ssh\

View your public key

# macOS / Linux
cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

# Windows PowerShell
type $env:USERPROFILE\.ssh\id_ed25519.pub

Copy the entire output — it starts with ssh-ed25519 and ends with your email address.

Adding your SSH key to BareMeta

In the dashboard, click SSH Keys in the left sidebar
Click + Add SSH Key
Give it a name (e.g. "My MacBook") and paste your public key
Click Add Key

When creating a new server, select this key during setup. It will be automatically installed on the server so you can connect immediately after it boots.

ℹ️ SSH keys are injected during server creation. If you add a key after creating a server, you'll need to manually add it to the server's ~/.ssh/authorized_keys file.

Troubleshooting connection issues

Permission denied (publickey)

Your SSH key isn't authorised on the server. Check that:

You selected the correct SSH key when creating the server
You're using the private key that matches the public key you added
You're connecting as the correct user (ubuntu for Ubuntu servers)

Connection refused or timed out

Check the server is running in the dashboard
Verify the IP address is correct
Check your firewall rules — port 22 must be open

Host key verification failed

This can happen if you recreate a server with the same IP. Remove the old key:

ssh-keygen -R YOUR_SERVER_IP