Guides - Reset the Root Password on a Compute Instance
Linux virtual machines equipped with a tailored set of resources designed to run any cloud-based workload.
All Compute Instances that are deployed within a supported distribution image allow you to reset the root password for the installed Linux system. This is useful if you ever lock yourself out of your instance’s root account or are simply rotating your password for security.
Log in to the Cloud Manager, click the Linodes link in the sidebar, and select a Compute Instance from the list.
Click the Power Off button in the upper right of the Compute Instance’s dashboard or within the ellipsis menu. Wait until the Compute Instance has been fully powered off before continuing to the next step.
Navigate to the Settings tab.
Scroll down to the Reset Root Password section.
Select your primary disk from the Disk dropdown menu.
Enter a new password for the root user in the New Root Password field.
Click Save to make the change.
Click Power On button to turn on your Compute Instance.
Now you can use the new work when logging in as root on your Compute Instance’s installed system. See Connecting to Your Compute Instance via SSH for more information about connecting. If you are unable to connect with the root credentials via SSH, try connecting with Lish instead. If you are able to connect via Lish but not SSH, you may need to troubleshoot your SSH configuration and firewall rules.
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