# Manage a Contabo server

Handle what's different about Contabo: prepaid contract terms, the VNC console password, cancelling or renewing the subscription, and plan upgrades.

## Before you start

- A Contabo account connected to Nuvlo. See [Connect Contabo](https://app.nuvlo.dev/docs/connect-contabo).

## Contract terms

Contabo bills a fixed monthly price per contract term, paid upfront. When you [create a server](https://app.nuvlo.dev/docs/create-a-server), choose the **Contract term** under the plan table. Longer terms lower the monthly rate. The contract renews automatically at the end of each term.

![The Contract term choices under the plan table with the upfront total](https://app.nuvlo.dev/docs/shots/connect-contabo--contract-term.webp)

## Step 1: Reveal the console password

Day-to-day access to the server uses SSH keys. The root password only works in Contabo's VNC console, as a fallback if SSH is unreachable.

Open the server and click the **Overview** tab. In **Contabo console password**, click **Reveal password**. Nuvlo doesn't store the password; it fetches it from Contabo each time, and every reveal is logged. Only owners and admins can reveal it.

![The Contabo console password card on the Overview tab with the Reveal password button](https://app.nuvlo.dev/docs/shots/manage-a-contabo-server--console-password.webp)

## Step 2: Check the subscription

The **Subscription** card on the **Overview** tab shows **Auto-renews** with the next renewal date and term, or **Cancelled** with the date the server runs until.

![The Subscription card with the Auto-renews badge and the renewal date](https://app.nuvlo.dev/docs/shots/manage-a-contabo-server--subscription.webp)

## Step 3: Cancel the subscription

Click **Cancel subscription**, then **Cancel subscription** in the dialog. Auto-renew turns off. The server keeps running and stays in Nuvlo until the end of the paid period, then Contabo terminates it. You get a notification with the exact date.

![The Cancel subscription dialog with the Keep subscription and Cancel subscription buttons](https://app.nuvlo.dev/docs/shots/manage-a-contabo-server--cancel-dialog.webp)

> **Warning:** When Contabo terminates the server, everything on it is gone, including its sites. Move or back up what you need before that date.

## Step 4: Undo a cancellation

Contabo's API can't reverse a cancellation. Click **Undo cancellation**, then **Open Contabo Control Panel** and undo it there. Back in Nuvlo, click **I’ve undone it — check again**. Nuvlo checks with Contabo and turns auto-renew back on.

## Upgrade the plan

Upgrade the server in the Contabo Customer Panel, then click **Reload plan from provider** in the **Server plan** card on the **Settings** tab. Contabo doesn't offer downgrades. See [Change a server's plan](https://app.nuvlo.dev/docs/resize-a-server).

![The Server plan card of a Contabo server with the Reload plan from provider button](https://app.nuvlo.dev/docs/shots/manage-a-contabo-server--plan-card.webp)

## Removing a Contabo server from the list

On [Servers](https://app.nuvlo.dev/dashboard/servers), the row menu offers **Cancel subscription** instead of **Delete server**. This cancels the contract and removes the server and its sites from Nuvlo right away, while the server keeps running at Contabo until the paid period ends. To keep managing it until then, cancel from the server's **Overview** tab instead.

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Source: https://app.nuvlo.dev/docs/manage-a-contabo-server