For one reason or another you may have need to reset the root user password on the VPS Droplet from DigitalOcean that powers the website.

You should have a very good reason to change the root user password. Changing the root user’s password has the potential to break things or cut off developer access to perform maintainence tasks on the server.

Changing the password.

To change the Root user password for a Droplet you must first log in as root to your server’s IP address via SSH.

On a Mac you will use Terminal.app. On Windows you will need something like PuTTY.

Your command will look like:

ssh root@XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX

You will then enter the Droplet’s root user password.

Note: Asterisks will not be shown as you type the password.

Once logged in use the command:

passwd

To start a password reset. Once finished use the command

exit

You should notify Skunkworks of the new password to ensure developers have not lost access to the server.

Do not transmit the root user password via plain text in email. Instead use Skunkworks' app "Secret" to email a link to the password without any other identifying information.