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Once your instance is running, there are two ways to connect: SSH for terminal access and WebUI for browser-based access. This guide covers both.

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Prerequisites

  • A running instance (status shows Running in the dashboard)
  • For SSH: an SSH key uploaded to your account, or the password you set during instance creation
  • For WebUI: an instance created with a supported template (Stable Diffusion, ComfyUI, or Linux Desktop)

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Finding Your Connection Details

  1. Go to My Instances in the console
  2. Find your running instance
  3. Click the Connect button
Instance card showing the Connect button
This opens a window showing your SSH details and WebUI status.
Connection details with SSH and WebUI information

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Connecting via SSH

SSH gives you full terminal access to your instance. This is the primary way to interact with your VM.

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Your SSH Details

DetailValue
IP AddressShown after clicking Connect on your instance
Usernameubuntu
Port22 (default)

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Connect from Your Terminal

Open Terminal (Cmd + Space → “Terminal”) and run:
ssh ubuntu@<your-vm-ip>
Replace <your-vm-ip> with the IP address shown after clicking Connect.
Click the copy button in the connection details to copy the full SSH command to your clipboard, ready to paste.

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First-Time Connection

When connecting to an instance for the first time, you’ll see a host key verification prompt: 
The authenticity of host '203.0.113.50 (203.0.113.50)' can't be established.
ED25519 key fingerprint is SHA256:xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no/[fingerprint])?
Type yes and press Enter. This is normal and only happens once per instance. Your computer remembers the host key for future connections.

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Using a Specific SSH Key

If you have multiple SSH keys, specify which one to use: 
ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 ubuntu@<your-vm-ip>

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Connecting with a Password

If you chose password authentication when creating the instance: 
ssh ubuntu@<your-vm-ip>
You’ll be prompted to enter the password you set during creation.

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Connecting via WebUI Portal

The WebUI portal gives you browser-based access to web applications running on your instance. This is available for instances created with specific templates.

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Supported Templates

TemplateWebUI Access
Ubuntu 22.04 BaseNot available
Ubuntu 24.04 BaseNot available
Stable Diffusion (A1111) + JupyterAutomatic1111 WebUI + Jupyter
ComfyUI + JupyterComfyUI + Jupyter
Linux Desktop + JupyterDesktop environment + Jupyter

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Accessing the WebUI

  1. Go to My Instances and click Connect on your running instance
  2. In the connection details window, find the WebUI Portal section
  3. Click Open WebUI to launch the portal in a new browser tab
WebUI portal showing Ready status with Open button

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WebUI Status

The portal can be in one of three states:
StatusMeaning
ReadyThe WebUI is ready to use — click to open
InitializingThe portal is starting up (typically 30–60 seconds after boot) — wait and try again
UnavailableThis template doesn’t include a WebUI, or the instance isn’t running
The WebUI portal is secured via Cloudflare. It provides authenticated access to web services running inside your VM without needing to open ports manually.

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Keeping Your Session Alive

Long SSH sessions can disconnect due to network timeouts. To prevent this, configure your SSH client to send keepalive packets.

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Mac / Linux

Add these lines to your ~/.ssh/config file: 
Host *
    ServerAliveInterval 60
    ServerAliveCountMax 3
This sends a keepalive packet every 60 seconds and disconnects after 3 missed responses.

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Windows (PowerShell SSH)

Create or edit C:\Users\YourName\.ssh\config with the same configuration: 
Host *
    ServerAliveInterval 60
    ServerAliveCountMax 3

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Transferring Files

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Upload Files to Your Instance

Use scp to copy files:
# Upload a single file
scp myfile.txt ubuntu@<your-vm-ip>:~/

# Upload an entire directory
scp -r my-folder/ ubuntu@<your-vm-ip>:~/

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Download Files from Your Instance

# Download a single file
scp ubuntu@<your-vm-ip>:~/results.csv ./

# Download an entire directory
scp -r ubuntu@<your-vm-ip>:~/output/ ./
For large file transfers, consider using rsync for resumable transfers:
rsync -avz --progress ubuntu@<your-vm-ip>:~/large-dataset/ ./local-copy/

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Troubleshooting

  • Verify the instance status is Running in the dashboard
  • Double-check the IP address — click Connect on your instance to find it
  • Wait 1–2 minutes if the instance was just started; SSH may take a moment to be ready
Your SSH key doesn’t match. Try:
  1. Check which keys are loaded: ssh-add -l
  2. Specify the key explicitly: ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 ubuntu@<ip>
  3. Verify you uploaded the correct public key to Nova Cloud (Account → SSH Keys)
See the SSH Keys troubleshooting guide for more details.
  • Confirm the instance is in Running state
  • Newly created instances can take up to 10 minutes to provision — check the status in the dashboard
  • Try stopping and starting the instance from the dashboard
The WebUI portal typically starts within 30–60 seconds. If it’s been longer:
  • Try closing and reopening the connection details
  • Stop and start the instance
  • Check if the instance is still Running in the dashboard
This happens if you’ve connected to a different instance that previously had the same IP address. Remove the old key:
ssh-keygen -R <your-vm-ip>
Then try connecting again.

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What’s Next?

Instance Ports

Open ports for web services, Jupyter, and custom APIs.

SSH Keys

Manage your SSH keys and troubleshoot connection issues.