Recover instance access after losing the private key

Before creating a new key pair, confirm whether you can log in to the instance console.

Console login is only possible if password login was previously configured on the instance.

This may be the case if:

• You set a password during instance creation using a cloud-init configuration script.
• You configured a password for a user account after creating the instance.

To check:

1. Navigate to Compute > Instances.
2. Click the instance name.
3. Open the Console tab.
4. Try to log in using the username and password configured on the instance.

If you can log in, continue with the steps below to create a new key pair and add the new public key to the instance.

If the instance only allows SSH key authentication and no password login is configured, access cannot be recovered.

In this case, you may need to:

• Create a new instance
• Restore data from backup, if available
• Rebuild the environment manually

This is why it is important to store private keys securely and keep backups of important data.

Create a new SSH key pair that you will use to access the instance.

The private key remains on your computer. The public key must be added to the instance.

You can create a key pair in one of the following ways:

a) Generate a key pair in your terminal, then import the public key.

b) Create a key pair in the Cloud dashboard and download the private key file.

Creating a new key pair in the Cloud dashboard does not automatically update an existing instance. To use the new key, you must add the new public key to the instance’s authorized_keys file.

After creating a new key pair, add the new public key to the instance through the console.

Step 1: Log in to the instance console

1. 1
   Navigate to Compute > Instances.
2. 2
   Click the instance name.
3. 3
   Open the Console tab.
4. 4
   Log in using the username and password configured on the instance.

Step 2: Open the SSH directory

mkdir -p ~/.ssh

cd ~/.ssh

Step 3: Edit the authorized_keys file

nano authorized_keys

ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABAQC...

Step 4: Set the correct permissions

Run:

chmod 700 ~/.ssh

chmod 600 ~/.ssh/authorized_keys

Step 5: Connect using the new key

You can now connect to your instance using your new private key.

Follow the steps to connect to cloud instances via SSH.

To change the SSH key used to access an existing instance, you need to add the new public key to the instance.

Creating, deleting or renaming a key pair in the Cloud dashboard does not automatically change the keys already stored inside an existing instance.

If you still have access to the instance, add the new public key to the authorized_keys file for the user you use to connect.

If you no longer have SSH access, you can only do this through the instance console if password login is already configured.

Do not share your private key or server password with support.

Your private key gives access to your instance and should be stored securely, such as in an encrypted password manager or secure key store.