How do I give a developer access to my Linode?

First, there are two levels of Linode access: (1) Linode Manager access, which will give your Developer the ability to adjust the external settings of your Linode through our website, and (2) Direct user access to your Linode, which will allow your Developer to directly access the internal configuration of your Linode and make changes there. I'll address each level of access separately below.

Linode Manager Access

You can set up a Linode Manager user account for your Developer to give them tailored control over your Linode(s), as well as your account settings. This is a great tool to use if you're relying on your Developer to spin up, resize, add features to, or otherwise set up the Linodes themselves.

Conversely, you might want to avoid giving your Developer this type of access if you want them to focus only on development within a Linode that you've already configured and want to maintain complete control over.

You can find instructions on creating additional Manager user accounts and setting permissions in our guide on Accounts and Passwords.

Direct User Access

If you only want to give your Developer direct access to the Linode's internal system, you can set up a restricted user for them. For security purposes, you'll want to make sure that you set permissions for this user correctly so that your Developer only has as much access as they need. You can find instructions on creating users and setting their permissions in our guide on Linux Users and Groups.

Additionally, to ease your Developer's access to your Linode while maintaining security, you could set up a public key for SSH access.