FlashPanel

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Connect a server ​

You can add a server to FlashPanel in two ways:

  • Connect an existing server (Custom Server): a server you already rent from any provider. FlashPanel connects to it over SSH.
  • Create a server through the provider's API: FlashPanel creates a new server directly in your provider account (Vultr, DigitalOcean, Linode, ...).

Connect an existing server ​

INFO

An existing server is a server you created yourself at your provider. It is not created automatically by FlashPanel through an API.

WARNING

  • Make sure you are using or creating a fresh Ubuntu server (20.04, 22.04, 24.04, 26.04 LTS 64bit).
  • FlashPanel may not work on servers that already have software installed.
  • You must be able to log in over SSH as root (with a password or an SSH key). If your provider blocks root login, see Common problems at the end of this page.

TIP

If your existing server has not been updated for a while, run the update command below and then reboot the server before connecting. This helps avoid the installation hanging.

bash
apt update && apt upgrade -y

  1. Go to the Connect New Server page.

  2. Select the Custom Server provider.

  3. Enter the Server Name: lowercase letters a-z, numbers, and - only.

  4. Enter the Server IP or domain: IPv4, IPv6, or a domain (for example a dynamic DNS or tunnel host). With a domain, the server IP follows the domain automatically.

  5. Enter the SSH Port if the server does not use the default port 22.

  6. Select the authentication type: SSH Password or SSH Private Key.

    WARNING

    FlashPanel only uses this information during the first installation and does not store it anywhere!

    1. SSH Password: enter the root account password in the Root Password field.
    2. SSH Private Key: select the private key file and enter the Passphrase (if any).
      FlashPanel cannot read an OpenSSH private key that has a passphrase. Remove the passphrase from the key with the command:
      bash
      ssh-keygen -p -f path_to_private_key

  7. (Optional) Check Install Custom Script and select one of your scripts to run after installation.

  8. Select the applications to install initially.

  9. Click Add Server.

Create a server through the provider's API ​

WARNING

You must add your server provider's API Key before creating a server. See how to get an API Key

  1. Go to the Connect New Server page.
  2. Select a provider supported by FlashPanel.
  3. In Choose Credential, select the API Key you added. If you have none yet, click Add Credential to add one right away.
  4. Select a region in Choose Region.
  5. Select the Server Type and a plan in Choose Plan. For providers that support it, select Custom Plans to enter your own CPU, RAM, and disk size.
  6. Enter the server Name (lowercase letters a-z, numbers, and - only).
  7. Select the OS Version.
  8. (Optional) Select a script in Install Custom Script.
  9. Select the pre-installed applications.
  10. Click Connect New Server.

Common problems ​

Root account login disabled (OVH) ​

Some server providers disable the root user by default (such as OVH). Instead, they give you another account, such as ubuntu, that can switch to root.

To allow root login, do the following:

  1. Log in over SSH with the account your server provider created for you, for example ubuntu.

  2. Switch to the root user:

    bash
    sudo su

  3. Copy the commands below and paste them into the terminal to enable root password login and set a new root password:

    bash
    sed -i 's/^#*\s*PermitRootLogin.*/PermitRootLogin yes/' /etc/ssh/sshd_config
sed -i 's/^#*\s*PasswordAuthentication.*/PasswordAuthentication yes/' /etc/ssh/sshd_config
systemctl restart ssh
passwd root

Return to FlashPanel and connect the server as described above.

Please login as the user "ubuntu" rather than the user "root" (AWS / Oracle) ​

On AWS or Oracle Cloud servers, logging in as root shows this message and the connection is closed. Log in with the ubuntu account and run the following commands:

  1. Switch to the root user:

    bash
    sudo su

  2. Remove the exit 142 command from the root account's /root/.ssh/authorized_keys file:

    bash
    sed -i -e 's/.*exit 142" \(.*$\)/\1/' /root/.ssh/authorized_keys

Root account password login disabled (Azure) ​

Some Azure servers disable root password login by default. SSH into the server and run the following commands:

  1. Switch to the root user:

    bash
    sudo su

  2. Enable root login and set a password:

    bash
    sed -i 's/^#*PermitRootLogin.*/PermitRootLogin yes/' /etc/ssh/sshd_config
sed -i 's/^#*PasswordAuthentication.*/PasswordAuthentication yes/' /etc/ssh/sshd_config
systemctl restart ssh
passwd root

Root account password login disabled (Google Cloud) ​

Some Google Cloud servers disable root password login by default. SSH into the server and run the following commands:

  1. Switch to the root user:

    bash
    sudo su

  2. Remove the cloud config, enable root login, and set a password:

    bash
    sed -i 's/^#*PermitRootLogin.*/PermitRootLogin yes/' /etc/ssh/sshd_config
sed -i 's/^#*PasswordAuthentication.*/PasswordAuthentication yes/' /etc/ssh/sshd_config
rm -f /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/60-cloudimg-settings.conf
systemctl restart ssh
passwd root