Calaos OS comes out of the installation with two accounts protected by default passwords. Those passwords are the same on every installation, and they are written on this page: anyone can know them.
Until you change them, anybody with access to your network can take control of your home automation. It only takes a few minutes, and it should be done now, right after the installation.
| Account | What it is for | Default value |
|---|---|---|
root | Administering the system: updates, configuration, troubleshooting | user root, password calaos |
| Calaos Server | Connecting to the server from Calaos Installer, the mobile applications and the web app | user user, password pass |
These really are two different accounts, with two different purposes. Change both.
Both changes are made from the server, in a single session. If you have a screen and a keyboard connected to the machine, you can work directly on it. Otherwise, connect remotely from your everyday computer.
Open a terminal — the Terminal application on macOS and Linux, PowerShell or Windows Terminal on Windows — and type:
ssh root@YOUR_SERVER_ADDRESS
replacing YOUR_SERVER_ADDRESS with the IP address of your Calaos server. The password asked for is calaos.
On the very first connection, your computer asks you to confirm that it does not know this machine yet. Answer yes. And do not be surprised: when you type a password in a terminal, nothing is displayed, not even asterisks. That is normal — type it and press Enter.
More details about this remote connection in SSH access.
root passwordOnce connected, type:
passwd
The system asks for the new password, then asks you to confirm it a second time. Again, nothing is displayed while you type.
Choose a long password that you do not reuse anywhere else, and write it down: you will need it for every update and every intervention on the server.
These are the ones Calaos Installer and the mobile applications ask for when they connect to your server.
If your server has a touchscreen, the Calaos Home interface lets you change them directly from its configuration screen.
In the same session as before, type these two commands, replacing the values with your own:
calaos_config set cn_user my_user
calaos_config set cn_pass my_password
You can check the result with:
calaos_config get cn_user
The calaos_config tool is presented in detail on its own page.
After this change, all your applications will refuse to connect until you give them the new credentials: Calaos Installer, the mobile applications, the web app. Remember to update them straight away, otherwise you will think something is broken.
The Calaos Server credentials can be redefined from the server with the calaos_config set commands above: all you need is access to the root account.
The root password, however, can only be recovered with physical access to the machine, by booting from the Calaos OS USB stick. Store it in your password manager rather than relying on memory.
For a server exposed to the Internet, replace the root password with SSH key authentication, which is far safer, then disable password login. The procedure is described in SSH access.
If you access your home automation from outside, also read Dynamic DNS before opening ports on your router.