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Get set up

From login to running your first service -- login, SSH key, instance, connect, deploy.

Get set up - from login to running services

What you'll do

Log in, add an SSH key, deploy your first instance, connect to it, and run a service. Most of this takes under ten minutes.

Step 1 — Log in

Go to the dashboard and log in with your NairaCloud account. If you don't have an account yet, sign up first. Once logged in you'll see the dashboard with your instances, billing, and settings.

Practical -- try it now

Log in now

  1. Open the dashboard.
  2. Enter your email and password.
  3. You land on the dashboard -- this is your control centre.

Step 2 — Add an SSH key

Every instance is accessed over SSH. You need an SSH key pair: a public half (we store it) and a private half (never leaves your machine).

Go to SSH Keys in the dashboard and choose Auto-generate. Download the private key immediately -- we never store it.

If you prefer to generate your own key locally, use one of these:

macOS / Linux — built-in terminal
bash
# Generate a new key (press Enter for all defaults)
$ ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C you@nairacloud
# Your public key:
$ cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub
ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZD... you@nairacloud
Windows — PowerShell
bash
# Generate a new key (press Enter for all defaults)
> ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C you@nairacloud
# Your public key:
$ cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub
ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZD... you@nairacloud
# Private key lives at: %USERPROFILE%\.ssh\id_ed25519

Upload your public key (id_ed25519.pub) under SSH Keys in the dashboard, or just click Auto-generate to create one in the browser.

Practical -- try it now

Add your first key

  1. Go to SSH Keys in the dashboard.
  2. Click Auto-generate.
  3. Download the private key and keep it safe.

Step 3 -- Deploy your first instance

Go to the dashboard and click Deploy Instance. Choose:

  • Plan -- STARTER for websites and small apps, BASIC for bots, STANDARD for production.
  • OS -- Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 24.04, or Debian 12.
  • SSH key -- pick the key you just added.
  • Hostname -- lowercase letters, numbers, hyphens (e.g., my-server). Platform and marketing names such as www, docs, and api are reserved.

Click Deploy and wait for the instance to move from Creating to Running. That takes a minute or two.

Practical -- try it now

Deploy your first instance

  1. Dashboard → Deploy Instance.
  2. Pick plan, OS, your SSH key, and a hostname.
  3. Click Deploy and watch it become Running.

Step 4 -- Connect via SSH

Open your instance's page. Copy the SSH Command shown there -- it already has the correct address and port.

bash
$ ssh root@203.0.113.10 -p 22001
Host: your-instance
Public IPv4: 203.0.113.10
Welcome to the NairaCloud cluster.
macOS / Linux — terminal
bash
$ ssh root@203.0.113.10 -p 22001
# Type 'yes' when asked to trust the host
Welcome to the NairaCloud cluster.
Windows — PowerShell
bash
> ssh root@203.0.113.10 -p 22001
# Type 'yes' when asked to trust the host
Welcome to the NairaCloud cluster.
# Or use PuTTY: Host = 203.0.113.10, Port = 22001

Type yes when asked to trust the host, and you're in.

Practical -- try it now

Connect to your instance

  1. Open your instance's page in the dashboard.
  2. Copy the SSH Command.
  3. Run it from your terminal:
bash
$ ssh root@<your-ip> -p <your-port>

Step 5 -- Put a site online

Your instance is running and reachable. Run a web server on a port inside the instance:

bash
$ # On your instance:
$ docker run -d --name site --restart unless-stopped -p 8080:80 nginx:alpine
$ curl http://127.0.0.1:8080

Then open the instance's Networking tab, set the web site origin port to 8080, and open the HTTPS URL shown there. No DNS record or published port is required for the platform URL.

Practical -- try it now

Run your first website

  1. SSH into your instance.
  2. Run: docker run -d --name site -p 8080:80 nginx:alpine
  3. In Sites, set the web origin to 8080 and open the HTTPS URL.

Next steps

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