What is the VNC console?
The VNC console gives you direct access to your server's display output — exactly like sitting in front of a physical machine. It works even if the network is misconfigured or SSH is broken.
Launching the console
- Go to Instances → Manage → Overview tab.
- Click the VNC Console button in the top-right header area.
- A new tab opens and connects within a few seconds.
Toolbar actions
| Button | Function |
|---|---|
| ⛶ Fullscreen | Expand the console to fill your screen |
| Ctrl+Alt+Del | Send the classic three-finger salute to the guest OS |
| ✕ Close | Close the console tab |
Session expiry
VNC tokens expire after 10 minutes from the time you click the button. If you see "Connection lost", simply click VNC Console again to get a fresh token.
Security
The VNC connection is proxied through our servers using an encrypted WebSocket — the hypervisor IP is never exposed to your browser. Each token is single-use and discarded when the connection closes.
Tips
- Use the VNC console to reset a misconfigured firewall that locked you out of SSH.
- Paste text using your OS clipboard (Ctrl+Shift+V on most Linux terminals inside the VNC session).
- For graphical applications on a headless server, install a desktop environment (e.g.
xfce4) first.