proxmox-create-vm

name	proxmox-create-vm
description	Create LXC containers on Proxmox with proxmox-create. Use when provisioning new VMs, choosing sizing, or understanding VMID/IP assignment.

Creating an LXC Container

Step 1: Read defaults from the active env

grep -E 'PROXMOX_TEMPLATE_DEFAULT|PROXMOX_TARGET_NODE|PROXMOX_ID_PREFIX' \
    ~/.config/proxmox-sh/current.env

Step 2: Choose the OS template

sh ~/Agents/skills/proxmox/scripts/proxmox-sh-templates

Present the numbered list to the user. Guide the choice:

• systemd required (most services) => Ubuntu
• OpenRC / minimal (static sites, simple daemons) => Alpine
• Prefer: custom > bnna variant > standard
• The default tag marks the env's PROXMOX_TEMPLATE_DEFAULT

Step 3: Confirm before creating

NEVER: Run proxmox-create without first presenting the plan to the user (hostname, template, RAM/vCPU/storage, active profile) and receiving explicit confirmation.

Step 4: Run the command

MUST: Always pass --os with a full vztmpl/... path.

Wrap with expect to provide a pty (proxmox-create writes to /dev/tty):

expect -c 'spawn proxmox-create <hostname> \
    --os <PROXMOX_TEMPLATE_DEFAULT> \
    --storage <gb> --ram <mb> --vcpus <n>; \
    expect eof'

Output shows the assigned CTID, IP, and direct-IP domains. Example:

CTID:    1104209
IP:      10.11.4.209/24
Direct:  tls-10-11-4-209.<DIRECT_IP_DOMAIN>

Common errors:

• 403 on pool -- the env's PROXMOX_RESOURCE_POOL doesn't exist or isn't accessible. Run proxmox-sh-resources and pick from the listed pools.
• 500 on create -- usually a storage or network config issue. Check that the VNET/bridge and storage pool exist on the target node.
• "already exists" -- the VMID is taken. proxmox-create auto-increments, so this is rare. If it happens, retry.

Container Layout

• / (rootfs) -- 8 GB, fixed, from PROXMOX_FS_POOL
• /mnt/storage -- --storage size, from PROXMOX_DATA_POOL

The --storage flag sets /mnt/storage size, not rootfs.

Standard Sizing

Tier	RAM	vCPU	Storage	Use case
Minimal	512 MB	1	1 GB	Static sites, simple services
Dev	2048 MB	2	10 GB	Development instances
Standard	4096 MB	2	20 GB	Production services
Heavy	8192 MB	4	50 GB	Databases, build servers

VMID and IP Assignment

VMIDs are auto-assigned: <PROXMOX_ID_PREFIX><3-digit-index>. The index maps to the last IP octet:

Prefix: 1104, Next index: 209
VMID:   1104209
IP:     10.11.4.209/24
GW:     10.11.4.1

Post-Creation

1. TLS certificate -- proxmox-create initiates ACME issuance automatically. TLS issuance continues after expect eof returns -- the container is created but SSH via the tls- domain won't work until the cert is ready (~10-30s).
2. DNS -- Set up friendly domains (see proxmox-dns skill)
3. SSH access -- Wait for container init and TLS cert, then confirm:

sh ~/Agents/skills/proxmox/scripts/proxmox-sh-ssh-wait <direct-ip-domain> [<friendly-domain>]

Phase 1: SSH on direct-IP with backoff (7s/15s/15s), auto-detects user (root standard, app bnna). Phase 2: If friendly domain given, polls DNS propagation (max 20s). On DNS WARN, verify CNAME (subdomain) or A+SRV (apex) records via domainpanel.