Renaming a server (private name)
How to give your server a name that only you can see, and where this name is not used.
On this page
The pencil next to the server name on the “My Servers” page (app.blackbox.md/my-servers, sidebar → “Infrastructure” → “My Servers”) lets you give the server a private name, for example “Online store” instead of its original name bbx-bbx-2026-000123. The private name only changes what you see in the app.blackbox.md panel. The server itself, its original name and the hostname in the operating system stay the same.
Available to: any customer signed in to the panel, for every server in “My Servers”, including servers marked “Managed”.
How to rename a server
- Open “My Servers” and find the server's card.
- Click the pencil next to the server name. When you hover over it, the tooltip “Rename” appears.
- A text field opens below the name. If the server doesn't have a private name yet, the field is empty and shows the original name in gray. If it already has one, the current name appears selected, ready to be replaced.
- Below the field, you see the text “Only you see this name. The server itself is not changed.”
- Type the new name, up to 80 characters.
- Click “Save” or press Enter. While the name is being saved, the button shows “Saving…”.
- The field closes and the card shows the new name. The “Original name” row appears in the card's details list, with the server's original name.
There is no separate confirmation message: the new name in the card header shows that it was saved. To cancel without saving, click “Cancel” or press Esc.
How to go back to the original name
Use any of these options:
- click the pencil, then “Reset to original name” (this button appears only if the server has a private name);
- delete all the text in the field and click “Save”;
- type the original name exactly and click “Save”.
The private name is removed, the card shows the original name again, and the “Original name” row disappears.
Name rules
| Rule | Details |
|---|---|
| Length | Up to 80 characters. The field won't let you type more. Spaces at the beginning and end are removed automatically. |
| One line | The name can't contain a line break. |
| Characters | Any letters (including letters with diacritics and Cyrillic letters), digits, spaces and symbols. Invisible control characters, such as the tab character, are not allowed. |
| Empty field or the original name | Removes the private name. |
| Limit | Up to 30 changes in 5 minutes, for all the servers in your account combined. |
Error messages
The message appears in a red box below the field. The field stays open, so you can correct the name and save again.
| Message | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| “The name can be at most 80 characters.” | The name is longer than 80 characters | Shorten the name |
| “The name must fit on one line.” | The text contains a line break, usually copied from another document | Delete the text and type the name by hand |
| “The name contains characters that aren't allowed.” | The text contains an invisible control character, such as a tab copied along with the text | Delete the text and type the name by hand |
| “Too many changes. Please try again in a few minutes.” | You made more than 30 changes in 5 minutes | Wait 5 minutes without saving, then try again. Attempts made during this time also count |
| “Could not save the name. Please try again.” | Another error, such as a connection problem | Reload the page and try again. If the error keeps happening, write to us |
Where the private name is used and where it isn't
| Where | Which name you see |
|---|---|
| The server card on the “My Servers” page | The private name; the original name appears in the “Original name” row |
| The confirmation messages of the card's buttons, for example “Reboot …?” | The private name |
| The “Upgrade server” window, the “Server:” row | The private name |
| The “Monitoring” page: the server table and the list in the “Trends” block | The private name |
| The “Alerts” block on the “Monitoring” page | The original name |
| The “Terminate server” window | The original name |
| Emails from BLACKBOX (server ready, upgrade, deletion, alerts) | The private name is not used |
| Invoices and orders on blackbox.md | The private name is not used |
The server's hostname (in the terminal, after root@) |
Does not change |
| The AI assistant (MCP) | Sees the private name next to the original one, but can't change it |
| The data export on blackbox.md | Includes the private names, with each server's IP address: Downloading your data (“Datele mele”) |
Important To delete a server permanently, type the original name shown in the “Terminate server” window (for example,
bbx-bbx-2026-000123), not the private name. The “Schedule termination” button stays inactive until the text matches exactly. Details: Permanently deleting a server.
Tip When you write to support, include the server's IP address, the order number or the original name. Only you can see the private name.
Changing the hostname on the server
The hostname is the server's name in the operating system: for example, it appears on the command line after root@. The private name doesn't change it, and a hostname you change on the server doesn't appear in the panel. If you want the system to have a different name too, connect over SSH (Connecting to your server over SSH (Windows, macOS, Linux)) and follow these steps:
Set the new name. Use only lowercase Latin letters, digits and hyphens, with no spaces (for example,
web-01):hostnamectl set-hostname HOSTNAMEOpen the
/etc/hostsfile in a text editor, such as nano:nano /etc/hostsOn AlmaLinux and CentOS Stream, if nano isn't installed, install it first:
dnf install -y nanoReplace the old name with the new one. If the old name doesn't appear in the file, add this line at the end:
127.0.1.1 HOSTNAMESave the file (in nano: Ctrl+O, Enter, then Ctrl+X) and check the result. The new name appears in the “Static hostname” line:
hostnamectlServers start with cloud-init, which can restore the old name and the old contents of the
/etc/hostsfile at boot. To keep your changes after a reboot, run:echo "preserve_hostname: true" > /etc/cloud/cloud.cfg.d/99-preserve-hostname.cfg echo "manage_etc_hosts: false" >> /etc/cloud/cloud.cfg.d/99-preserve-hostname.cfg
The command line shows the new name the next time you connect over SSH.
Frequently asked questions
Who else can see the private name? Only you, in your account. The name does not appear in emails or on invoices.
Can I rename a server marked “Managed”? Yes. The private name doesn't change the server, so the pencil is available on these cards too.
Does the private name stay after a reboot or an upgrade? Yes. The private name belongs to your account, not to the operating system, so a reboot or an upgrade doesn't change it: Server upgrade: moving to a larger plan.
After a reboot, the hostname went back to the old one. What should I do? Most likely, cloud-init restored the name at boot. Run the commands from step 5 in the “Changing the hostname on the server” section, then repeat steps 1–4.