Proxmox Create Vm

Create Ubuntu 24.04 LXC containers or full VMs on Proxmox VE. Docker-ready with Compose v2. Handles nesting for Docker-in-LXC, auto-picks next available CTID, and includes post-boot Docker setup.

Proxmox VM/Container Creator

Create Ubuntu 24.04 LXC containers or full VMs on Proxmox VE. Returns a Docker-ready host with SSH access.

When to Use

• "create proxmox vm"
• "create proxmox container"
• "spin up lxc"
• "new container on proxmox-host"
• Any time you need a fresh Linux host on Proxmox

This is a base skill. It creates the infrastructure. Other skills deploy applications onto it.

LXC vs VM Decision Guide

Use LXC when	Use VM when
Running Docker containers (TheHive, MISP, etc.)	Security Onion, Zeek with AF_PACKET
Lightweight services	Need custom kernel modules
Want fast startup (~5 seconds)	Need full OS isolation
Most SOC tools	Network monitoring with raw sockets

Default: LXC. Only use VM when the application explicitly needs kernel access.

User Inputs

Parameter	Default	Required
Name	-	Yes
Proxmox host	proxmox-host (YOUR_PROXMOX_IP)	No
Type	lxc	No (lxc or vm)
CPU cores	2	No
RAM (MB)	4096	No
Disk (GB)	8	No
Extra packages	-	No

Prerequisites Check

bash

# SSH to Proxmox
ssh proxmox-host "pveversion" || echo "FAIL: Cannot SSH to Proxmox host"

# Check template (LXC)
ssh proxmox-host "pveam list local | grep ubuntu-24.04" || echo "Template not cached, will download"

# Find next CTID
ssh proxmox-host "pct list" | tail -n +2 | awk '{print $1}' | sort -n | tail -1
# Use max + 1

Execution Flow: LXC Container

Step 1: Ensure template is cached

bash

ssh proxmox-host "pveam list local | grep ubuntu-24.04 || pveam download local ubuntu-24.04-standard_24.04-2_amd64.tar.zst"

Step 2: Find next available CTID

bash

NEXT_CTID=$(ssh proxmox-host "cat <(pct list | tail -n +2 | awk '{print \$1}') <(qm list | tail -n +2 | awk '{print \$1}') 2>/dev/null | sort -n | tail -1")
NEXT_CTID=$((NEXT_CTID + 1))

Step 3: Create container

bash

ssh proxmox-host "pct create $CTID local:vztmpl/ubuntu-24.04-standard_24.04-2_amd64.tar.zst \
  --hostname <name> \
  --memory <ram> \
  --cores <cores> \
  --rootfs local-lvm:<disk> \
  --net0 name=eth0,bridge=vmbr0,ip=dhcp \
  --unprivileged 1 \
  --features nesting=1 \
  --start 1"

Key flags:

• --unprivileged 1: Security best practice
• --features nesting=1: Required for Docker inside LXC
• --start 1: Start immediately after creation

Step 4: Wait for boot and get IP

bash

sleep 10  # LXC boots in ~5 seconds

# Get IP from Proxmox
ssh proxmox-host "pct exec $CTID -- hostname -I"

# Or from DHCP
ssh proxmox-host "pct exec $CTID -- ip -4 addr show eth0 | grep inet | awk '{print \$2}' | cut -d/ -f1"

Step 5: Post-boot Docker setup

bash

bash scripts/post-boot-setup.sh proxmox-host $CTID

Or manually:

bash

ssh proxmox-host "pct exec $CTID -- bash -c '
  apt-get update -qq
  apt-get install -y -qq docker.io curl git htop
  systemctl enable docker && systemctl start docker
  mkdir -p /usr/local/lib/docker/cli-plugins
  curl -SL https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/latest/download/docker-compose-linux-x86_64 -o /usr/local/lib/docker/cli-plugins/docker-compose
  chmod +x /usr/local/lib/docker/cli-plugins/docker-compose
'"

Step 6: Verify

bash

ssh proxmox-host "pct exec $CTID -- docker --version && pct exec $CTID -- docker compose version"

Execution Flow: Full VM

Use scripts/create-vm.sh for full VMs when LXC won't work:

bash

ssh proxmox-host "qm create $VMID --name <name> --memory <ram> --cores <cores> \
  --net0 virtio,bridge=vmbr0 --scsihw virtio-scsi-pci \
  --scsi0 local-lvm:<disk>,format=raw --ide2 local-lvm:cloudinit \
  --boot c --bootdisk scsi0 --serial0 socket --vga serial0 \
  --ciuser deploy --cipassword <password> --ipconfig0 ip=dhcp \
  --start 1"

Return Values

Report to caller:

text

Container/VM Created: <name>
CTID/VMID: <id>
Type: lxc | vm
IP: <ip>
SSH: root@<ip> (LXC) or deploy@<ip> (VM)
Docker: installed
Docker Compose v2: installed

Teardown

bash

# LXC
ssh proxmox-host "pct stop $CTID && pct destroy $CTID --purge"

# VM
ssh proxmox-host "qm stop $VMID && qm destroy $VMID --purge"

Critical Gotchas

See references/gotchas.md for full details:

1. Docker in LXC needs nesting=1: Without --features nesting=1, Docker fails to create networks
2. LXC limitations: No custom kernel modules, no raw sockets (AF_PACKET). Use VM for Security Onion, Zeek
3. Template caching: pveam download is slow first time. Check pveam list local first
4. CTID conflicts: Always check pct list before picking a CTID
5. Disk is thin-provisioned: 770GB free in pool but containers can fill up fast
6. Wazuh (CTID 105): 99.3% full at 25GB. Don't colocate storage-heavy services