Reinstalling the OS

Anyone-can-do-it nuke-from-orbit. The reinstall erases the disk and lays down a fresh OS image. There's no undo.

When to use it

• Switching OS (e.g. Ubuntu → Debian).
• You've broken the install beyond reasonable repair.
• Sold/transferring the VPS to someone else.
• You want a clean baseline for benchmarking.

How

1. Back up anything you want to keep. Snapshots taken before reinstall are preserved, but in-VM data on the live disk is gone.
2. /dashboard/services → your VPS → Reinstall
3. Pick the OS template.
4. Optional: paste an SSH public key — it'll be installed in /root/.ssh/authorized_keys so you don't need a password.
5. Confirm the warning, kick off the reinstall.
6. Wait 3–10 minutes. Watch progress in the console if you want.
7. New root password is shown on the service page. SSH in.

Cloud-init

For templates that support cloud-init (most Linux), you can paste user data at reinstall time. Useful for fully automated bring-up:

#cloud-config
users:
  - name: deploy
    sudo: ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL
    ssh_authorized_keys:
      - ssh-ed25519 AAAA...
packages:
  - docker.io
  - git
runcmd:
  - systemctl enable --now docker

Custom ISO

The advanced option. Upload an .iso, attach it to the VM, boot from it. You get the full OS installer experience via the console. Useful for niche distros or specific configurations we don't template.

What stays after reinstall

• The IP (same address, no DNS changes needed).
• The Suzko-side billing + service identity.
• Any snapshots you'd taken before the reinstall.

What doesn't:

• The previous disk contents. Gone.
• Any cron jobs, users, services, packages you'd set up. Gone.