How to create a Droplet on DigitalOcean

beginner 8 min read Updated 2026-03-13

Quick Answer

Sign into DigitalOcean Control Panel, click Create > Droplets, select region, image (e.g., Ubuntu), plan (e.g., s-1vcpu-1gb), add SSH key, enable options like backups, then click Create Droplet. It provisions in 1-2 minutes; access via SSH at the displayed IP. Use CLI with doctl for automation.

Prerequisites

Active DigitalOcean account with added payment method and sufficient funds
SSH key pair generated (public key ready to upload)
Basic knowledge of your app's CPU, RAM, and storage needs
doctl CLI installed for command-line method (optional)

Step-by-Step Instructions

Log in to DigitalOcean Control Panel

Access cloud.digitalocean.com/login and sign in with your account credentials. If new, create an account at cloud.digitalocean.com/registrations/new. Ensure your account has a payment method added and sufficient credits to cover the Droplet plan cost.

Verify billing balance in the Billing section to avoid creation failures.

Navigate to Create Droplet

In the top right corner, click the green Create button to open the create menu, then select Droplets. This opens the Droplet creation page with pre-selected popular defaults like New York region and Ubuntu image, allowing immediate creation or full customization.

Choose Datacenter Region

In the Choose a datacenter region section, pick a region from the dropdown closest to your users (e.g., New York (nyc1) as default). Enable IPv6 checkbox for dual-stack networking if required. Use doctl compute region list via CLI to list options.

Select regions with low latency for your audience to optimize performance.

Choose an Image

In the Choose an image section, select an OS like Ubuntu 24.04 x64 (LTS) or Debian, or a Marketplace app (e.g., WordPress, Docker). Custom images can be uploaded or used from snapshots. Marketplace images may offer one-click database integration.

Latest LTS Ubuntu is recommended for stability and long-term support.

Select a Plan

In the Choose a plan section, pick a size like Basic Shared CPU Regular s-1vcpu-1gb ($6/month: 1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM, 25 GB SSD, 1 TB transfer). Premium Intel/AMD plans offer better performance. Use doctl compute size list for available slugs.

Start small and resize later; monitor usage to scale appropriately.

Set Up Authentication

In the Authentication section, choose SSH key (recommended), select existing keys or click New SSH Key to upload your public key. Alternatively, select Password for a temporary email-sent password. Keys persist for future Droplets.

Generate SSH keys with <code>ssh-keygen -t ed25519</code> for strongest security.

Configure Additional Options

Expand options: Select VPC network (default or new), enable IPv6 and Monitoring, check Enable backups (~20% cost add-on). In Advanced Options, add User Data cloud-init scripts, tags (e.g., webserver), and set quantity >1 if needed.

Use tags for firewall rules and organization across projects.

Finalize and Create Droplet

In Finalize Details, enter Hostname (e.g., my-droplet), add tags, select Project (default: Default), and quantity. Click green Create Droplet button. It provisions in ~1 minute; note the IP from the Droplets list and SSH as ssh root@your-ip.

Click <strong>Create via command line</strong> to copy cURL or doctl command for replication.

Optional: Create via CLI (doctl)

Install doctl, generate API token (Control Panel > API > Tokens/Keys), run doctl auth init with token. Create with doctl compute droplet create mydroplet --region nyc1 --image ubuntu-24-04-x64 --size s-1vcpu-1gb --ssh-keys your:key:id. List options via doctl compute region list, etc.

CLI is ideal for automation; save token securely as environment variable.

Common Issues & Troubleshooting

Process stalls or hangs without error (e.g., UI freezes)

Check DigitalOcean dashboard directly; Droplet often creates in background. Refresh, restart tool, and manually import if listed.

"Insufficient funds" or billing error

Add payment method/credits in Billing settings or select cheaper plan like s-1vcpu-1gb.

Cannot SSH after creation

Verify SSH key added correctly, check security group/firewall allows port 22, use correct user (root or added user) and IP from dashboard.

Wrong region or unavailable size/image

Run <code>doctl compute region list</code>, <code>doctl compute size list</code>, <code>doctl compute image list</code> to confirm available options in your region.

Droplet not appearing after API/CLI create

Check action status via API links or <code>doctl compute droplet list</code>; wait 1-2 minutes as provisioning is asynchronous.

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