Overview
This article is an overview of how to add a new username to your server, and then your website.
Adding a user to a server
To add a new website user:
- Navigate to FTP Users & Files page in your panel.
- Click the + Add A User button at the top right.
- The 'Add User Details' page appears:
- Enter the following:
- Username — A username for the new user.
- Nickname — A nickname for the new user.
- What server will this user have access to? — Click the down arrow and select the server on which the user will have access.
- Secure shell access — Use the toggle button to enable Secure Shell/SSH (right) or disable (left). If 'Secure shell access' is disabled, then SFTP is used.
- Select the Shell Type — If Secure shell access is enabled, then the Select the Shell Type drop-down box appears. You can select bash, tcsh, ksh, or zsh. See the Shell users section below for more information.
- When finished, click the Create User button.
A password is assigned automatically and appears in the panel after the user is created. See the following article if you wish to change the password:
Adding a user to a domain
View the following article for instructions on adding your new username to a domain.
What if I own more than one website at DreamHost?
Every website hosted with DreamHost is "owned" by exactly one user. However, a single user may own more than one website. In that case, each site would have its own directory under the user's root directory.
You can configure the account so that a user only has access to one subdirectory on a DreamHost website.
Why does it say my name is already taken?
The "namespace" for DreamHost usernames is shared across a fairly large cluster of machines. As a result, all the usernames created for FTP/SFTP/SHELL users must be unique across the whole group. Typically, common user names such as “admin” have already been taken so users may need to add extra characters to their user to ensure it is unique.
Difference between SFTP and Shell users
View the following article for information on the difference between SFTP and Shell users.
Deleting a user
See the following article for further information on how to delete a website user:
Unfortunately, this is not possible. View the One user per domain policy article for details.
Changing an FTP/SFTP user into a Shell user
If you need to log into your server via SSH, your username must be configured as a Shell user. View the following article for instructions on how to enable a shell user.
Logging into your server
Now that a user has been created, you can log in using an FTP client, or SSH (SSH users only). View the following articles for further information.