Creating a server

This tutorial covers the process of creating a server using the Hetzner Cloud CLI. It includes creating an SSH Key, uploading it, creating a Server and then connecting to it via SSH.

Prerequisites

• A functioning installation of the hcloud CLI, with a valid active context.

1. Create an SSH Key

1.1 Generate an SSH Key

While an SSH key is not strictly required to create a server, it is highly recommended for secure access. If you don't have an SSH key yet, you can generate one using the following command:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f ~/.ssh/hcloud

Your private key will now be located at ~/.ssh/hcloud. Do not share your private key with anyone!

1.2 Upload the SSH Key

You can upload your SSH key to Hetzner Cloud using the following command:

hcloud ssh-key create --name my-ssh-key --public-key-from-file ~/.ssh/hcloud.pub

[!TIP] You can set this SSH key as the default SSH key for your context using the following command:

hcloud config set default-ssh-keys my-ssh-key

2. Create a Server

2.1 Pick a Server Type

Before creating a server, you need to choose a server type. You can list all available server types using the following command:

hcloud server-type list

For this example we will use the cpx22 server type. You can view the details of this server type using the following command:

hcloud server-type describe cpx22

2.2 Pick an Image

You need to choose an image for your server. You can list all available images using the following command:

hcloud image list

There are many images available, including various Linux distributions and pre-configured app images. For this example we will use the ubuntu-24.04 image.

2.3 Pick a Location (Optional)

You can choose a location for your server. You can list all available locations using the following command:

hcloud location list

If you don't specify a location, one will be chosen for you. This is what we will do in this example.

2.4 Create the Server

Now you can create the server using the following command:

hcloud server create --name my-server --type cpx22 --image ubuntu-24.04 --ssh-key my-ssh-key

If you set the SSH key as the default SSH key for your context, you can omit the --ssh-key flag. After the server was created, you will see information about the server, including its IP address.

3. Connect to the Server

You can connect to the server using SSH. The CLI contains a built-in utility to do this:

hcloud server ssh my-server -i ~/.ssh/hcloud

This command will open an SSH connection to the server using the private key you generated earlier.

4. Clean Up

After you are done with the server, you can delete it using the following command:

hcloud server delete my-server

You can also delete the SSH key using the following command:

hcloud ssh-key delete my-ssh-key