Proxmox VE CLI Cheat Sheet 2026 — Quick Command Reference

Proxmox VE CLI Cheat Sheet is the complete quick-reference of Proxmox VE CLI commands grouped by function. Copy any command with one click and find what you need with Ctrl+F in under 3 seconds.

VMs (QEMU/KVM)

Action	Command	Useful flags
List all VMs	`qm list`
Start a VM	`qm start <vmid>`
Stop a VM	`qm stop <vmid>`
Shutdown a VM gracefully	`qm shutdown <vmid>`
Destroy a VM with purge	`qm destroy <vmid> --purge`	`--purge`
Create a new VM	`qm create <vmid> --name <name> --memory <mb> --net0 <model=...,bridge=...>`	`--name --memory --net0`
Show current VM configuration	`qm config <vmid> --current`	`--current`
Migrate a VM online to another node	`qm migrate <vmid> <target-node> --online`	`--online`

LXC Containers

Action	Command	Useful flags
Create a container	`pct create <vmid> <template> --storage <storage> --hostname <hostname> --password <password>`	`--storage --hostname --password`
Start a container	`pct start <vmid>`
Stop a container	`pct stop <vmid>`
Shutdown a container	`pct shutdown <vmid>`
Destroy a container	`pct destroy <vmid>`
List all containers	`pct list`
Enter a container shell	`pct enter <vmid>`
Set container resource limits	`pct set <vmid> --memory <mb> --swap <mb> --cores <cores>`	`--memory --swap --cores`

Storage & ZFS

Action	Command	Useful flags
No commands detected for this group.

Clustering & HA

Action	Command	Useful flags
No commands detected for this group.

Networking & Bridges

Action	Command	Useful flags
No commands detected for this group.

Backups & Snapshots

Action	Command	Useful flags
Create a VM snapshot	`qm snapshot <vmid> <snapname>`
List VM snapshots	`qm listsnapshot <vmid>`
Delete a VM snapshot	`qm delsnapshot <vmid> <snapname>`
Create a container snapshot	`pct snapshot <vmid> <snapname>`
List container snapshots	`pct listsnapshot <vmid>`
Delete a container snapshot	`pct delsnapshot <vmid> <snapname>`

pvesh & API

Action	Command	Useful flags
List all API endpoints	`pvesh get / --output-format json`	`--output-format json`
List VMs on a specific node	`pvesh get /nodes/<node>/qemu`
Get VM status	`pvesh get /nodes/<node>/qemu/<vmid>/status/current`
Create a new VM with minimal parameters	`pvesh create /nodes/<node>/qemu --vmid <vmid> --name <name>`	`--vmid --name`
Update VM memory configuration	`pvesh set /nodes/<node>/qemu/<vmid>/config --memory <mb>`	`--memory`
Delete a VM	`pvesh delete /nodes/<node>/qemu/<vmid>`
Get node status	`pvesh get /nodes/<node>/status`

Diagnostics & Logs

Action	Command	Useful flags
Get recent tasks on a node	`pvesh get /nodes/<node>/tasks`
Follow pvedaemon logs	`journalctl -u pvedaemon -f`	`-u pvedaemon -f`
Follow pveproxy logs	`journalctl -u pveproxy -f`	`-u pveproxy -f`

⚠️ Dangerous / Destructive Commands

These commands are irreversible. Verify your environment (dev/staging vs prod) before running them.

Action	Command	Warning
⚠️ Destroy ⚠️	`qm destroy <vmid> --purge`	Irreversible — verify the target before running
⚠️ Destroy ⚠️	`pct destroy <vmid>`	Irreversible — verify the target before running
⚠️ Get	`pvesh get / --output-format json`	Irreversible — verify the target before running
⚠️ Delete	`pvesh delete /nodes/<node>/qemu/<vmid>`	Irreversible — verify the target before running

FAQ — Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between VMs (QEMU/KVM) and LXC Containers?

Each group in this Proxmox VE CLI cheat sheet covers a distinct area. VMs (QEMU/KVM) focuses on its specific scope, while LXC Containers and the remaining groups cover networking, storage, security and diagnostics respectively.

How do I check the installed Proxmox VE CLI version?

Run the version command (usually qm version or qm --version). The output shows the client and, when applicable, the server version.

Why does Proxmox VE CLI return ‘permission denied’?

A ‘permission denied’ error in Proxmox VE CLI usually means the current user lacks sufficient privileges or credentials are not configured. Check: (1) assigned IAM/RBAC roles, (2) an active authentication context via the corresponding login command.

How do I filter Proxmox VE CLI output by status or name?

Use flags such as --filter, --selector or --query depending on the tool. You can also pipe into grep or jq to process JSON:

qm list | grep RUNNING

What is the fastest way to debug a Proxmox VE CLI error?

Add the verbose flag (--verbose, -v or --debug) to the failing command. This reveals the underlying HTTP/API calls and the full error response body.

Official sources & references

Commands cross-checked against vendor documentation and high-authority repositories: