# Getting started with your VPS Source: https://vpsdime.com/knowledgebase/getting-started Last reviewed: 2026-07-05 Summary: The first steps after your VPS is deployed, connecting over SSH, uploading files with SFTP, pointing your domain, hosting a website with free SSL, securing the server properly, and setting up real backups. Your VPS is deployed, here's the path from "I have an IP address" to a working, secured, backed-up server. The guides read in order, but each stands alone. ## Get in and get your files up - [Your first 30 minutes on a new VPS](https://vpsdime.com/knowledgebase/getting-started/first-30-minutes). The checklist: update, sudo user, keys, firewall, backups, half of it doable on the deploy form itself. - [Managing your VPSDime VPS](https://vpsdime.com/knowledgebase/getting-started/managing-your-vpsdime-vps). The control panel tour: one login for billing and servers, and everything that's self-service. - [Connecting to your VPS (SSH)](https://vpsdime.com/knowledgebase/getting-started/connecting-to-your-vps). Username, password, your first `ssh` command, the Console fallback, and why Linux isn't RDP. - [Terminal basics](https://vpsdime.com/knowledgebase/getting-started/terminal-basics). Enough shell to run a server: tab completion, nano, systemctl, logs, and the safety habits. - [Using Claude Code on your VPS, safely](https://vpsdime.com/knowledgebase/getting-started/claude-code-on-vps). The AI agent as junior sysadmin, install, what it's good at, and the leash (CLAUDE.md rules included). - [Running a self-hosted AI agent (OpenClaw, Hermes)](https://vpsdime.com/knowledgebase/getting-started/self-hosted-ai-agents). The always-on agents with a web panel: honest RAM requirements, and why you must never expose the control panel to the internet. - [Setting up SSH keys, properly](https://vpsdime.com/knowledgebase/getting-started/setting-up-ssh-keys). Generate on any OS, deploy via the panel or ssh-copy-id, the agent, and the config file. - [Uploading files (SFTP)](https://vpsdime.com/knowledgebase/getting-started/uploading-files-sftp). Built into SSH, nothing to install, FileZilla/WinSCP or scp/rsync. ## Put something live - [Pointing your domain](https://vpsdime.com/knowledgebase/getting-started/pointing-your-domain). A records, Cloudflare, or our free DNS Manager, and propagation expectations. - [Hosting a website](https://vpsdime.com/knowledgebase/getting-started/hosting-a-website). One-click apps vs nginx/Caddy, and free SSL with Let's Encrypt. - [Cloudflare best practices](https://vpsdime.com/knowledgebase/getting-started/cloudflare-best-practices). Locking the origin to Cloudflare's IPs, real visitor IPs in your logs, Full (strict) SSL, and caching that actually caches HTML. - [SSL/TLS certificates: a complete guide](https://vpsdime.com/knowledgebase/getting-started/ssl-certificates). Every free ACME CA with instructions, challenge types (and why not to keep port 80 open just for renewals), wildcards done right, cipher best practices, and CA-fallback resilience. - [One-click Applications explained](https://vpsdime.com/knowledgebase/getting-started/one-click-applications). Coolify, Traccar, Immich, Code Server, picked on the deploy form, credentials emailed. - [Modern open-source control panels](https://vpsdime.com/knowledgebase/getting-started/open-source-control-panels). Coolify, Dokploy, Dokku, HestiaCP, CloudPanel, and the security rule for all of them. - [Should I host my own email?](https://vpsdime.com/knowledgebase/getting-started/self-hosting-email) The honest decision: what self-hosting costs in upkeep, when it's worth it, and the hybrid. ## Moving an existing setup here - [Migrating from shared hosting to a VPS](https://vpsdime.com/knowledgebase/getting-started/migrating-to-a-vps). The email decision, the hosts-file test, and the overlap week. - [Migrating a VPS to a new server](https://vpsdime.com/knowledgebase/getting-started/migrating-a-vps). Server-to-server rsync, database dumps, two-pass cutover, and the new-IP checklist. ## Make it durable - [Securing your VPS](https://vpsdime.com/knowledgebase/getting-started/securing-your-vps). SSH keys, closed ports, automatic updates, acting fast on CVEs, and what to do if compromised. - [Securing publicly accessible services](https://vpsdime.com/knowledgebase/getting-started/securing-public-services). Bind databases and caches to localhost, service by service, and the scanner-report quick wins. - [Backing up your VPS](https://vpsdime.com/knowledgebase/getting-started/backing-up-your-vps). The 3-2-1 rule, database dumps, restic and friends, and how the Nightly Backups add-on fits in. ## When you need us - [How to raise a support ticket](https://vpsdime.com/knowledgebase/getting-started/raising-a-support-ticket). The first-reply-fix recipe, and why you paste what the server said, never what the chatbot said. Ordering a VPS or adding another one is covered separately: [how to order](https://vpsdime.com/knowledgebase/presales/how-to-order-a-vps) and [deploying a new VPS](https://vpsdime.com/knowledgebase/client-area/deploy/deploying-a-new-vps). --- Still need a person? You can [open a support ticket](https://vpsdime.com/open-ticket/) any time.