CasaOS Terminal Login: Username, Password and SSH Port

The CasaOS web interface has its own administrator login, but the built-in Log and Terminal feature connects to the operating system through SSH. That distinction explains the original community problem: entering the CasaOS WebUI administrator name and password did not necessarily authenticate an Ubuntu, Debian, or Raspberry Pi system account.

The 2024 replies first suggested the historical casaos username and password on SSH port 22. That worked for one respondent's appliance installation but not for the original author's CasaOS installation on a laptop. The author finally succeeded only after installing openssh-server, setting a password for a real Linux user, and entering that username and password in the CasaOS terminal dialog.

Gumball had created an admin profile to sign in to CasaOS. That account worked for the browser interface but failed in the terminal dialog on port 22. Another participant reported the same separation: the administrator credentials opened the CasaOS dashboard, while SSH used an operating-system account.

This means the terminal fields should be understood as SSH authentication fields:

Username: a Linux account that is allowed to log in through SSH.
Password: that Linux account's password, if password authentication is enabled.
Port: normally 22 unless the SSH server has been configured to listen elsewhere.

CasaOS can be installed on different Linux distributions and hardware, so there is no safe universal assumption that every current installation still provides a working casaos/casaos account. Users comparing the two IceWhale operating-system paths can read CasaOS vs ZimaOS.

The Historical casaos/casaos Reply

M3nhir replied that an unchanged appliance installation could use username casaos, password casaos, and SSH port 22. For LAN access, the example was:

ssh casaos@SERVER_LAN_IP

The reply mentioned a ZimaBlade installation. When a legacy ZimaBlade reference appears in current Shop content, the relevant product path is the current ZimaBlade single-board server. The original author, however, was using a laptop rather than Zima hardware.

Default SSH passwords are a security risk. Even if casaos/casaos works on an older image, change it immediately and do not expose port 22 directly to the public internet.

The CasaOS administrator account belongs to the web application's user system. SSH authenticates against users known to the host operating system and follows the SSH daemon's authentication configuration. Matching the same text in both login forms does not automatically make the accounts identical.

The thread also contains later reports where the terminal worked on a Raspberry Pi but failed on Ubuntu and Hyper-V. Those replies show that the result depends on the base distribution, whether an SSH server is installed and running, and whether password login is permitted.

The Fix Confirmed by the Original Author

Gumball eventually reported success after installing OpenSSH Server and setting a password. On Ubuntu or Debian, the official Ubuntu OpenSSH Server guide uses:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install openssh-server

After installation, verify that the service is enabled and running:

sudo systemctl enable --now ssh
sudo systemctl status ssh

Set or change the password for the Linux account that will be used in the terminal:

sudo passwd YOUR_LINUX_USERNAME

In the CasaOS Log and Terminal dialog, the author said to enter the Linux username itself rather than a string such as username@192.168.x.x, then enter the password set for that user. For a separate SSH client on another LAN device, the normal format remains:

ssh YOUR_LINUX_USERNAME@SERVER_LAN_IP

The CasaOS wiki similarly describes the command-line environment as accessible through SSH, the dashboard terminal, or a connected keyboard and display in its command-line access example.

Password Authentication Can Still Block the Web Terminal

Installing the package is not sufficient if the server accepts only SSH keys. CasaOS project reports have documented cases where the web terminal expected username-and-password authentication and did not work against a key-only SSH server.

Before changing authentication settings, first test from a normal LAN terminal. If regular SSH works with the same username and password but the CasaOS terminal does not, the issue is more likely in the CasaOS terminal integration. If regular SSH also fails, inspect the SSH service status and authentication logs.

Do not weaken an internet-exposed server simply to make the web terminal accept a password. Prefer LAN-only access, a trusted VPN, or key-based SSH from a normal client when possible.

Important Correction: DenyUsers casaos Blocks That User

A later reply linked a video and said it added this line to /etc/ssh/sshd_config:

DenyUsers casaos

That directive does not enable the casaos account. The official OpenSSH sshd_config manual states that usernames matching DenyUsers are disallowed from logging in. Adding the line would therefore block SSH login for casaos.

The video is preserved below because it was part of the community discussion, but the quoted DenyUsers casaos instruction should not be copied as a login fix.

If DenyUsers casaos already exists and the intention is to allow that account, remove or comment out the matching rule, validate the configuration, and only then restart SSH:

sudo sshd -t
sudo systemctl restart ssh

Do not restart after an invalid configuration test; a broken SSH configuration can lock out a remote administrator.

Identify the Linux username on the host; do not assume the CasaOS WebUI administrator is the same account.
Install openssh-server if the base operating system does not already provide it.
Confirm that the SSH service is running and listening on the expected port, normally 22.
Set a strong password for the selected Linux user if the CasaOS web terminal requires password authentication.
Test ssh username@server-ip from another device on the LAN.
In the CasaOS terminal dialog, enter only the username, its password, and the configured SSH port.
Check AllowUsers, DenyUsers, password-authentication settings, and firewall rules if login still fails.
Keep SSH restricted to the LAN or a secure remote-access layer.

CasaOS Terminal Login FAQ

Which port does the CasaOS terminal use?

The community replies used SSH port 22. A custom SSH port must match the port on which the host's SSH server actually listens, and older CasaOS terminal implementations may have limitations around non-default ports.

Should I enter my CasaOS WebUI admin account?

Not necessarily. The WebUI account and the Linux SSH account are separate in the case described by the thread. Use a valid Linux username and its SSH authentication method.

Is casaos/casaos still the default login?

It was reported for an older appliance installation, but it failed for the original author's laptop installation. Do not treat it as a current universal credential, and change any default password that still works.

Why did installing openssh-server solve the original case?

The CasaOS web terminal relies on an SSH server on the underlying operating system. Without a running SSH daemon accepting the selected user's credentials, the terminal cannot establish its session.

No. It explicitly denies SSH login to the casaos user. The later reply that presented it as part of a solution conflicts with the OpenSSH manual.