Proxmox CLI Cheat Sheet

Quick reference for managing LXC containers (pct), QEMU/KVM VMs (qm), storage, and node status on Proxmox VE.

Replace <vmid> with the numeric ID shown in the web UI or CLI output.

1. LXC Containers (`pct`)

1.1 List and status

pct list
pct status <vmid>

1.2 Lifecycle

pct start <vmid>
pct shutdown <vmid>      # graceful ACPI shutdown
pct stop <vmid>          # force stop (like pulling power)
pct reboot <vmid>

1.3 Create and destroy

# Download a template first (see section 5)
pct create 100 local:vztmpl/debian-12-standard_12.7-1_amd64.tar.zst \
  --hostname my-lxc \
  --memory 512 \
  --cores 1 \
  --rootfs local-lvm:8 \
  --net0 name=eth0,bridge=vmbr0,ip=dhcp

pct destroy <vmid>

1.4 Configuration

pct config <vmid>                    # show current config
pct set <vmid> -memory 1024          # change RAM
pct set <vmid> -cores 2              # change CPU cores
pct set <vmid> -onboot 1             # start on host boot

1.5 Shell access

pct enter <vmid>                     # attach to container console
pct exec <vmid> -- bash              # run a command inside the CT

2. Virtual Machines (`qm`)

2.1 List and status

qm list
qm status <vmid>

2.2 Lifecycle

qm start <vmid>
qm shutdown <vmid>       # graceful shutdown via guest agent / ACPI
qm stop <vmid>           # force power off
qm reboot <vmid>
qm reset <vmid>          # hard reset

2.3 Configuration

qm config <vmid>
qm set <vmid> -memory 4096
qm set <vmid> -cores 4
qm set <vmid> -onboot 1

2.4 Clone and destroy

qm clone <source-vmid> <new-vmid> --name my-vm-clone --full 1
qm destroy <vmid>

2.5 Console

qm terminal <vmid>       # serial console (if configured)

Access the graphical console from the Proxmox web UI (noVNC / SPICE).

3. Node and cluster

3.1 Version and node status

pveversion
pveversion -v                    # verbose — kernel, pve-manager, etc.
pvenode status
uptime
free -h

3.2 Cluster (if configured)

pvecm status
pvecm nodes

3.3 Services

systemctl status pveproxy pvedaemon pve-cluster
systemctl restart pveproxy       # restart web UI after cert changes

4. Storage

4.1 List storage pools and content

pvesm status
pvesm list local
pvesm list local-lvm
df -h

4.2 Common storage IDs

ID	Typical use
`local`	ISO images, container templates, backups
`local-lvm`	VM/CT disks (LVM-thin)
`local-zfs`	ZFS-based disk pool (if configured)

5. Templates and backups

5.1 Download LXC templates

pveam update                       # refresh template index
pveam available
pveam download local debian-12-standard_12.7-1_amd64.tar.zst

5.2 Backup a VM or container

vzdump <vmid> --storage local --mode snapshot --compress zstd

Flag	Description
`--storage <id>`	Target storage pool
`--mode snapshot`	Live backup with minimal downtime
`--mode stop`	Stop VM/CT before backup (consistent but disruptive)
`--compress zstd`	Compress backup archive

List backups on storage:

ls /var/lib/vz/dump/

6. Tasks and logs

# Active and recent tasks (also visible in web UI → Datacenter → Tasks)
pvesh get /cluster/tasks

# Host syslog
journalctl -u pvedaemon -f
tail -f /var/log/pve/tasks/active

7. Quick reference

Goal	Command
List all CTs	`pct list`
List all VMs	`qm list`
Graceful stop CT	`pct shutdown <vmid>`
Force stop CT	`pct stop <vmid>`
Graceful stop VM	`qm shutdown <vmid>`
Enter CT shell	`pct enter <vmid>`
Show CT config	`pct config <vmid>`
Show VM config	`qm config <vmid>`
Storage usage	`pvesm status`
Proxmox version	`pveversion`
Backup VM/CT	`vzdump <vmid> --storage local`

See Network configuration for bridges, /etc/network/interfaces, and DNS.