Overview
This article explains how to locate your website credentials and log into your server using an SFTP client.
- DreamPress sites: View the Logging into your DreamPress site via FTP article instead if you need to log into your DreamPress site.
Prerequisites
The following must be configured before proceeding with the steps in this article:
- Add hosting: Make sure that you have added hosting to your domain in your DreamHost panel. This assigns it the credentials you need to log into your server.
- Download an SFTP client: This article uses the SFTP client Filezilla to illustrate examples. You can use any client you like to log into your server as the settings are the same.
Locating your login credentials
You will need the following information to log into your web server:
The following sections explain how to obtain each one.
The hostname
There are two hostnames you can use to log into your DreamHost server.
Option 1 — Use your site name
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Your website name can be used, but only if you have added hosting to your domain and the domain's DNS is already pointing to DreamHost. Here is what it would look like in Filezilla:
Option 2 — Use the server name
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The hostname of your server can be used if you have added hosting to your site, but have not pointed your DNS to DreamHost yet. The server name is a combination of the name of your server followed by a DreamHost domain. View the following table for examples by server type.
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Type of server How it appears Hostname to use Shared iad1-shared-a1-23 iad1-shared-a1-23.dreamhost.com VPS ps123456 ps123456.dreamhostps.com Dedicated ds123456 ds123456.dreamservers.com DreamPress dp-1234567890 dp-1234567890.dreamhostps.com
- Navigate to the Manage Websites page.
- Click the Manage button to open the Domain Settings page, which allows you to adjust various settings for your site.
- Select the Hosting tab. Your hosting plan and Machine (server) name is listed at the top.
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The username
- Navigate to the Manage Websites page.
- Click the Manage button to open the Domain Settings page, which allows you to adjust various settings for your site.
- Click the Website tab.
- Click Show Login Info under the Manage Files section to view the Username field.
The user's password
The password was originally created when the username was created. If you do not remember this password, you can reset it. To change your user's password in the panel:
- Navigate to the Manage Websites page.
- Click the Manage button to open the Domain Settings page, which allows you to adjust various settings for your site.
- Click the Website tab.
- Click Show Login Info under the Manage Files section to view the user settings.
- Click the Reset Password link.
- Enter a password and click the Reset Password button to reset the password.
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If the password you entered is found in the haveibeenpwned database, a warning message appears. You must enter a new password before proceeding. See Have I been pwned for more information.
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The port #
Port #22 is the only value you should use since this uses the secure SFTP protocol.
Finally, click Quickconnect to log into your server.
When you originally log into a DreamHost server, you may see the following warning:
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The server's host key is unknown. You have no guarantee that the server is the computer you think it is.
View the 'The server's host key is unknown' warning article for further information on how to confirm the key values you're seeing and log into your server.
Where do I put my files?
Once you're logged in, you'll see several files and folders. View the following article for instructions on where to upload your site files: