Droplet How-Tos

Validated on 1 March 2021 • Posted on 19 June 2018

DigitalOcean Droplets are Linux-based virtual machines (VMs) that run on top of virtualized hardware. Each Droplet you create is a new server you can use, either standalone or as part of a larger, cloud-based infrastructure.

Getting Started

Create Droplets

Create Droplets from the DigitalOcean Control Panel and customize the image, plan, authentication method, and quantity of Droplets you want.

Recommended Initial Setup

Create a new Droplet with our recommended configuration for improved security, reliability, and monitoring.

Add SSH Keys to Droplets

Improve security when you log in by creating SSH keys and adding them to Droplets.

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Connect with SSH

Connect to Droplets using OpenSSH or PuTTY for shell access to your remote server.

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Tag Droplets

Organize Droplets with tags to group and filter Droplets by role, automatically include Droplets in firewall or load balancer configurations, or target multiple Droplets at once with the API.

Transfer Files with Filezilla

Securely move files between Droplets and your local machine using FileZilla, an open-source FTP client.

Droplet Management

Track Performance

Monitor Droplet performance with default graphs for bandwidth, CPU usage, and disk I/O. Install the DigitalOcean metrics agent for extended graphs like CPU load average, memory usage, and disk usage.

Resize Droplets

Increase the amount of CPU and RAM a Droplet has, and optionally also add additional disk space.

Rebuild Droplets

Overwrite the entirety of a Droplet’s disk with an image you select.

Manage the Kernel

Upgrade a Droplet’s internal kernel to the latest supported version, modify your Droplet to boot into a specific non-default version, or use the DigitalOcean GrubLoader kernel to switch legacy Droplets from external kernal management to internal kernel management.

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Destroy Droplets

Destroy a Droplet to permanently and irreversibly destroy the Droplet, its contents, and its automated backups.

Provide User Data

Provide arbitrary user data to a Droplet during its creation time, like Droplet ID, datacenter region, and IP addresses.

Access Droplet Metadata

Access metadata about your Droplet by making calls to the metadata service.