Docs / Servers

Browser console

3 minute read

Get a shell on a server from the console, with no SSH client or key. Useful from a locked-down laptop, or when you have locked yourself out of SSH.

1. Open the console

Open the server and click Console in the header, or go to the Console tab. A terminal opens in the page, signed in as ubuntu, which can use sudo.

The server must be powered on. If it is off, power it on first.

2. Who can open it

Opening a console is the same as SSH access, so it follows team roles.

Role	Can open the console
Owner, Admin, Developer	Yes
Billing, Viewer	No

Every session is recorded in the audit log with who opened it, from where and for how long.

3. Fix a lockout

If SSH stops working, the console still gets you in. Common fixes:

In the console

# add a key back
echo "ssh-ed25519 AAAA… [email protected]" >> ~/.ssh/authorized_keys
# a firewall rule blocked SSH
sudo ufw allow OpenSSH
sudo ufw status
# sshd won't start
sudo sshd -t
sudo systemctl restart ssh

4. Prefer your own terminal

For daily work, SSH is faster and supports copying files. Every server gets a port on one gateway, so port 22 is never exposed:

Terminal

ssh -p 20009 [email protected]
# or let the CLI look up the port
simplicloud servers ssh web-1

5. End the session

Type exit or close the tab. Programs you started keep running only if you used something like tmux or screen.

Was this page helpful?