Installing PasswordLab Server from DigitalOcean Marketplace with the Hosted Database

Setting up PasswordLab with DigitalOcean’s infrastructure gives you the best of both worlds: simple deployment and reliable, managed services. In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to install the PasswordLab server from the DigitalOcean Marketplace and configure it with a DigitalOcean Managed MySQL Database.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

  • A DigitalOcean account.
  • A valid PasswordLab license key.
  • SMTP credentials for sending user emails (e.g., 2FA codes, notifications).

Step 1: Create a New Droplet

  1. Log in to your DigitalOcean dashboard.
  2. If you don’t have a project, DigitalOcean will prompt you to create one—go ahead and create it.
  3. Click Create → Droplet.
  4. Under Choose Region, select a data center location close to your users (e.g., New York 3).
  5. Under Choose an image, select the Marketplace tab and search for “PasswordLab”.
  6. Click on the PasswordLab image.
  7. Skip the “Add a Managed Database” option for now—we’ll handle that separately below.
  8. Choose a Droplet size. PasswordLab performs well even on the smallest available size.
  9. Select your Authentication Method:
    • Choose SSH key for passwordless login (recommended), or
    • Choose Password to have root credentials emailed to you.
  10. (Optional) Enable Monitoring to view Droplet metrics.
  11. Set a hostname (e.g., passwordlab-n1).
  12. Click Create Droplet.

Step 2: Create a DigitalOcean Managed MySQL Database

  1. From your dashboard, click Create → Databases.
  2. Select the same data center region used for your Droplet.
  3. Choose MySQL as the database engine.
  4. Select your preferred database configuration (e.g., Basic CPU plan).
  5. Enter a cluster name (e.g., passwordlab) and click Create database cluster.

Database provisioning may take a few minutes—please wait until fully deployed.

Step 3: Configure the Managed Database

  1. Once created, go to the Users & Databases tab.
  2. Add a new database user of your choice and click Save.
  3. Add a new database (e.g., plab) and save it.
  4. Navigate to the Overview tab.
  5. Under Trusted Sources, click Add and select your Droplet.
    • This restricts access to the database cluster to your Droplet only.
  6. Go to the Connection Details section:
    • Select VPC network to ensure secure internal communication.
    • Note down the hostname, port, database name, username, and password.

Step 4: Complete PasswordLab Configuration

  1. Go back to your Droplet page.
  2. Click the Quick access to PasswordLab link to open the setup page.
  3. Accept the terms and conditions.
  4. Enter your valid PasswordLab license. If you don’t have one, use the Buy a license button.
  5. Enter the database details from your managed database connection screen.
  6. Provide your SMTP credentials (used to send 2FA codes and notifications).
  7. Create your administrator account.
  8. Check your admin email for the OTP and enter it to verify your identity.

Step 5: Configure the Master Vault

  1. Enter five trusted email addresses to distribute the master key pieces.
    • At least three key pieces are required to unlock the master vault.
    • For demo purposes, you can use the same email address, but it’s recommended to use five different, trusted individuals in production.

PasswordLab will now finalize its setup by creating the database schema, vault, and user accounts.

Step 6: Final Touch – Restart the PasswordLab Service

  1. SSH into your Droplet using your chosen authentication method.

  2. Run the following command to restart the PasswordLab service:

    systemctl restart passwordlab

  3. Confirm the service status:

    systemctl status passwordlab

    You should see the service as active (running).

Step 7: Disable Internal Database (Optional but Recommended)

Since you’re using a managed database, the internal database server pre-installed with the droplet is not needed. To save system resources:

systemctl stop mysql
systemctl disable mysql

Step 8: Unlock the Master Vault

  1. Visit the PasswordLab web interface.
  2. Enter three of the five key pieces received via email to unlock the vault.
  3. Once the vault is unlocked, users can begin logging in.

Step 9: Log In and Confirm Everything Works

  1. Enter your admin email.
  2. Type your password.
  3. Enter the 2FA code sent to your email.
  4. You should now be logged in and ready to manage your team.

That’s it!

You’ve successfully installed PasswordLab from the DigitalOcean Marketplace and integrated it with a hosted MySQL database. For a deeper dive into other configurations and use cases, check out our full documentation.