AgentAura on Vultr: Server, SSH Key and API Key 🔷

By the end of this guide you will have a Vultr Cloud Compute instance that AgentAura can deploy onto: Ubuntu 24.04, 2 vCPUs and 4 GB of RAM on an x86 CPU, a public IPv4 address, and your own SSH key for logging in as root.

There are two ways to get AgentAura onto Vultr:

• My Server (steps 1 to 6) works in every AgentAura client: web, iPhone and iPad, Mac, Android, Windows and Linux. You deploy the instance in the Vultr console and give AgentAura its address and a key.
• An API key (step 7). If your AgentAura app shows a Vultr option (currently the Windows app), you paste a Vultr API key and the app creates the instance in your own Vultr account.

Either way, Vultr bills you directly. Getting a Server for AgentAura explains the requirements behind each choice. The Vultr console changes over time, so labels may look slightly different.

1. Create an account

On Vultr's registration page, enter your email address and a password (GitHub and Google sign-up also work), accept the terms and click Create free account. Confirm your address through the Verify Your E-mail link Vultr sends.

You land on the billing page. Vultr requires a verified payment method before you can deploy anything; it uses it to check your identity. With a credit card you can choose to link the card with a $0.00 deposit (your bank may show a small temporary hold); other methods, such as PayPal, need a small deposit.

At the time of writing (September 2026), Vultr's account guide says it "offers free credits for up to 30 days" to try the service. Read the conditions shown to you when you sign up.

2. Make an SSH key and add it to Vultr

Make a new key for this server only, with no passphrase (AgentAura has no passphrase field):

# macOS or Linux
mkdir -p ~/.ssh
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f ~/.ssh/agentaura -N "" -C "agentaura"

# Windows 10 or 11, in PowerShell. When asked for a passphrase, press Enter twice.
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force "$HOME\.ssh" | Out-Null
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f "$HOME\.ssh\agentaura" -C "agentaura"

The overview guide explains the key rules in detail. Show the public key and copy it:

cat ~/.ssh/agentaura.pub                   # macOS / Linux
Get-Content "$HOME\.ssh\agentaura.pub"     # Windows PowerShell

In the Vultr console, open Account, choose SSH Keys, click Add SSH Key, paste the public key and name it agentaura. Do this before you deploy: Vultr's docs say that adding a key to an existing instance reinstalls it and wipes its data.

3. Deploy the instance

Go to Products, then Compute, and click Deploy. Choose Shared CPU and the location nearest to you. Then pick a plan category:

Intel and AMD mean x86, which is what AgentAura requires. Pick a plan with 2 vCPUs and 4 GB of RAM. Vultr cannot downgrade an instance later (it can upgrade), so there is no point starting bigger. Then:

• Software: click Configure Software, stay on Operating System and choose Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. Not a Marketplace app: AgentAura wants a fresh server.
• SSH Keys: select agentaura.
• Firewall Group: leave it empty (see step 4).
• Hostname and label: agentaura.
• Instance Connectivity: keep the public IP option. Public IPv4 is on by default; leave it on. Vultr lets you untick it to make an IPv6-only instance, which AgentAura cannot use.
• Limited User Login: leave it off. It replaces root with a user called linuxuser and blocks root over SSH. AgentAura needs root or a user with passwordless sudo, and Vultr's docs do not say linuxuser has that.
• Automatic Backups, DDoS Protection: not needed. If one is on, check what it adds to the price.

Click Deploy.

4. Firewall and network

There are two layers, and neither needs more than SSH.

On the server. Vultr's firewall guide says the operating system's firewall (UFW on Ubuntu) is enabled on a new server. SSH works through it, since that is how you log in. Leave it as it is.

Vultr Firewall groups are optional and filter traffic before it reaches the instance. In a Vultr Firewall group, all traffic is dropped unless a rule accepts it, and it takes precedence over the server's own firewall. If you attach one, add an accept rule for SSH (TCP port 22) from anywhere, for both IPv4 and IPv6. Not "My IP": AgentAura connects over SSH from its own cloud, for the install and for later management. Open no other port; the agent is reached through an outbound Cloudflare Tunnel.

5. Log in once yourself

Open the instance's page. It shows the public IPv4 address, and the Overview tab holds the default credentials: user root and a generated password. Wait a few minutes after the instance starts: a new server may still be booting or running its first package upgrades, which lock apt. Then:

ssh -i ~/.ssh/agentaura root@203.0.113.10
# Windows PowerShell: ssh -i "$HOME\.ssh\agentaura" root@203.0.113.10

Answer yes to the fingerprint question. At the root@ prompt, type exit.

6. Fill in AgentAura

Choose My Server and enter:

Display the private key for copying:

cat ~/.ssh/agentaura                   # macOS / Linux
Get-Content "$HOME\.ssh\agentaura"     # Windows PowerShell

Copy everything, including the BEGIN and END lines, start the deployment and watch the output. The quick start covers the model credential you choose next.

7. Or let AgentAura create the server with an API key

If your AgentAura app shows a Vultr option, it can create the instance for you instead of steps 3 to 6. It needs a Vultr API key:

1. Open the API page of the Vultr console. Vultr's docs currently place it under Account → API or as Vultr API under Orchestration. If API access is off, enable it.
2. Create a key: give it a name such as AgentAura and, if you like, an expiry date. A key stops working when it expires.
3. Copy it right away. Vultr shows a new key only once.

A Vultr key has no read or write setting: it acts on behalf of the user it belongs to. Made by the account owner, it can create instances, which is what AgentAura needs.

Check Access Control. Next to the key, Vultr keeps a list of IP addresses allowed to use the API. Vultr's docs say it starts with two entries, Any IPv4 (0.0.0.0/0) and Any IPv6, which allow every address. AgentAura calls the Vultr API from its own cloud, not from your computer, so if you switch those off and allow only your own IP, AgentAura's requests will be refused. Leave them on while you use the Vultr option.

Paste the key into AgentAura's Vultr option. The instance appears in your account and Vultr bills you for it. Guard the key like a password; if you suspect it leaked, Vultr advises regenerating it at once.

8. Costs and cleanup

Vultr bills an instance from deployment until you destroy it. Removing an agent in AgentAura does not destroy the instance, and neither does a failed deployment.

• Stopped still costs the full price. Vultr's FAQ: "a stopped instance incurs normal charges as it would while running". A destroyed instance incurs none.
• To destroy it, open the instance, click Destroy Server at the top right, and confirm. This is permanent and also removes its IP addresses.
• Free credits run out. Vultr's own advice is to remove resources before your credits expire.

Common problems

• Connection timed out. A Firewall group has no SSH rule or only admits your IP, or the instance was made IPv6-only.
• Permission denied (publickey). The key was not selected at deployment, you pasted the .pub file, or the key has a passphrase. Use the root password from Overview, or deploy a new instance with the right key.
• Root login refused, or the install stops asking for a sudo password. Limited User Login was on. Deploy again with it off.
• The install stops on an apt lock. First-boot upgrades were still running. Wait and deploy again.
• You cannot deploy. Vultr has not verified a payment method yet.
• The Vultr option in AgentAura fails. API access is off, the key expired, or Access Control no longer allows any address.

Official Vultr pages we used: How to Provision Vultr Cloud Compute Instances · Create New API Key · How to Manage Vultr API Access Control for Users · Cloud Compute FAQ