Install Proxmox VE

Set up Proxmox Virtual Environment on a dedicated or KVM server – including ISO mount, installation and access to the web UI.

Requirements

KVM server with at least 4 GB RAM and 32 GB storage
Access to the server panel (KVM console / ISO mount)
Proxmox VE ISO (Download: proxmox.com/downloads)

Step 1: Mount the ISO and boot

Download the latest Proxmox VE ISO and mount it through your server's KVM panel. Then restart the server and boot from the virtual CD drive.

Step 2: Install Proxmox

In the installer, select "Install Proxmox VE (Graphical)". Configure the target disk, file system (ext4 or ZFS), time zone, password and network. For the IP address, enter your server's static IP.

Step 3: Disable the enterprise repository

After the reboot, connect via SSH and disable the paid enterprise repository. The commands depend on the version: the current Proxmox VE 9 is based on Debian 13 "trixie" and uses .sources files in deb822 format; Proxmox VE 8 (Debian 12 "bookworm") still uses .list files. Check your version with pveversion.

# Proxmox VE 9 (Debian trixie, deb822 format)

# Disable the enterprise repo: add "Enabled: no"
sed -i '/^Types:/a Enabled: no' /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-enterprise.sources

# Add the community repo (no-subscription)
cat > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/proxmox.sources << 'EOF'
Types: deb
URIs: http://download.proxmox.com/debian/pve
Suites: trixie
Components: pve-no-subscription
Signed-By: /usr/share/keyrings/proxmox-archive-keyring.gpg
EOF

# Update the system
apt update && apt full-upgrade -y

# Proxmox VE 8 (Debian bookworm, older .list format)
sed -i 's/^deb/#deb/' /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-enterprise.list
echo "deb http://download.proxmox.com/debian/pve bookworm pve-no-subscription" > \
  /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-no-subscription.list
apt update && apt full-upgrade -y

If apt update still reports a 401 error for enterprise.proxmox.com, the Ceph enterprise repository is also active. Disable it the same way (ceph.sources or ceph.list) – or simply use Node → Updates → Repositories in the web UI.

Step 4: Open the web UI

Open https://YOUR-SERVER-IP:8006 in your browser. Log in as root with the password you set during installation. You can ignore the certificate warning.

Step 5: Create your first VM

# Download an ISO for your VMs (e.g. Ubuntu Server)
cd /var/lib/vz/template/iso
# Check the current file name on releases.ubuntu.com/24.04/ first
wget https://releases.ubuntu.com/24.04/ubuntu-24.04.5-live-server-amd64.iso

# Then in the web UI: "Create VM" → select ISO → assign resources → start

Note: Proxmox inside a KVM server only runs its own VMs with hardware acceleration if nested virtualization is available. Check this on the server with grep -cE 'vmx|svm' /proc/cpuinfo (a result greater than 0 means the CPU extensions are passed through). If you are unsure, ask our support before ordering. Plan generously for RAM and CPU cores, as every VM needs its own resources.

Ready for your Proxmox server?

Our KVM servers offer full virtualization support – perfect for Proxmox VE.

Configure server