Proxmox Skill

Proxmox VE virtualization platform reference for VM management, containers, clustering, and homelab infrastructure.

Quick Reference

# VM management (qm)
qm list                           # List all VMs
qm status <vmid>                  # Check VM status
qm start <vmid>                   # Start VM
qm stop <vmid>                    # Stop VM (graceful)
qm shutdown <vmid>                # Shutdown VM (ACPI)
qm unlock <vmid>                  # Remove lock
qm config <vmid>                  # Show VM config

# Container management (pct)
pct list                          # List all containers
pct status <ctid>                 # Check container status
pct start <ctid>                  # Start container
pct stop <ctid>                   # Stop container
pct enter <ctid>                  # Enter container shell

# Cluster management (pvecm)
pvecm status                      # Cluster status and quorum
pvecm nodes                       # List cluster nodes

# API shell (pvesh)
pvesh get /nodes                  # List nodes via API
pvesh get /nodes/<node>/status    # Node resource status

# Backup (vzdump)
vzdump <vmid> --mode snapshot --storage <storage>
vzdump --all --compress zstd

Reference Files

Load on-demand based on task:

Validation Checklist

Before deploying VMs/containers:

• Cluster status healthy (pvecm status)
• Node resources available (CPU, RAM, disk)
• Storage accessible and mounted
• Network bridges configured correctly
• VLAN tags match network design
• Resource allocation within node limits
• HA configuration correct (if enabled)
• Backup schedule in place
• Naming convention followed

VM vs LXC Quick Decision

Homelab Network VLANs