How to set a password on a virtual machine instance

How-to · Updated May 2026

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▸AWS·EC2 Instances

EC2 Instanceshigh

Uses EC2 RunInstances API instead of Nova servers.create.
Requires predefined instance type selection.
Supports per-second On-Demand billing and Spot/Reserved options.
Includes hibernation state not standard in OpenStack.

AWS docs ↗

▸Azure·Virtual Machines

Virtual Machineshigh

Uses Azure Resource Manager (ARM) REST API at /providers/Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines instead of OpenStack Nova API at /v2.1/servers.
Tightly integrated with Azure services like Azure Active Directory for authentication, unlike OpenStack's Keystone.
VM creation requires specifying size from predefined series with hardware-specific features (e.g., AMD/Intel/ARM), not custom flavor configs.
Billed per second with complex pricing tiers based on series/reservation options, vs OpenStack's typically hourly or usage-based.

Azure docs ↗

▸Google Cloud·VM instances

VM instanceshigh

Uses REST API 'instances.insert' instead of Nova 'servers.create' with different auth via service accounts vs Keystone.
Supports bare metal instances (no hypervisor), not in standard OpenStack Nova.
Network interfaces tied to VPC subnets; differs from Neutron ports/floating IPs.

Google Cloud docs ↗

How to set a password on a virtual machine instance

Set a login password on an instance so you can access it via the web console. Passwords are an alternative to SSH key pairs for console-based access.

Prerequisites

ConsoleLogged in to the Quake AI console
CLIOpenStack CLI installed and authenticated (clouds.yaml or openrc sourced)

Windows: CLI examples use bash. Set up a Linux CLI environment on Windows before proceeding.

Set a password during instance creation#

Select Compute > Instances > Create Instance.
Complete the Base Config and Network Config tabs.
In the System Config tab, set the Login Type toggle to Password (the other option is Keypair).
The Admin User field is read-only and shows the default OS account for the selected image (for example, ubuntu for the Ubuntu image; see the Default usernames by distribution table below).
Enter the Login Password and confirm it in Confirm Password.
Select Next: Confirm Config and confirm.

Change the password on a running instance#

On a running instance, log in via SSH and use the standard Linux password change command:

bash

sudo passwd ubuntu

Replace ubuntu with the username for your distribution.

Default usernames by distribution#

The default login username depends on the OS image. Use this table as a reference:

Distribution	Default username
Ubuntu	`ubuntu`
Debian	`debian`
CentOS	`centos`
Fedora	`fedora`
RHEL	`cloud-user`
Rocky Linux	`rocky`
AlmaLinux	`almalinux`
OpenSUSE	`opensuse`
Arch Linux	`arch`

Verify the username against the image's official documentation if uncertain.

Usage Guidelines

The sample code, software libraries, command line tools, proofs of concept, templates, and other related technology on this page (including any of the foregoing that is provided by Quake AI personnel) is provided to you as Quake AI Content under the Quake AI Customer Agreement, or the relevant written agreement between you and Quake AI (whichever applies). Do not use this Quake AI Content in your production accounts, or on production or other critical data. You are responsible for testing, securing, and optimizing the Quake AI Content (such as sample code) as appropriate for production grade use based on your specific quality control practices and standards. Deploying Quake AI Content may incur Quake AI charges for creating or using Quake AI chargeable resources, such as running Compute instances or storing data in Object Storage. Your use is also subject to the Acceptable Use Policy.

For the full policy, see Usage Guidelines.

Last validated: 24.05.2026

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How to set a password on a virtual machine instance

How to set a password on a virtual machine instance

Set a password during instance creation#

Change the password on a running instance#

Default usernames by distribution#

See also#

Usage Guidelines

Quick answers

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