How to Install Proxmox VE 9: ISO Installer or Debian 13

Proxmox VE is a free virtualization platform built on Debian. It combines KVM virtual machines and LXC containers behind a single web interface and supports clustering, backups and software-defined storage. The current branch is Proxmox VE 9, based on Debian 13.

Requirements

a 64-bit Intel or AMD CPU with hardware virtualization (VT-x or AMD-V);
at least 2 GB of RAM for the system itself plus memory for your guests — 16 GB or more in practice;
a dedicated disk or array for the system, preferably SSD;
a network interface with a static IP address.

Proxmox is installed on a physical machine: nested virtualization is usually not available on a regular VPS. A dedicated server is the right fit.

There are two ways to install it:

from the official ISO image — the main, recommended route;
on top of an existing Debian 13 — when you cannot boot your own image or need a custom disk layout.

Method 1. Install from the ISO image

Prepare the media

Download the Proxmox VE ISO Installer from proxmox.com. If the server has IPMI or a KVM console, attach the ISO as virtual media. Otherwise write it to a USB stick:

dd bs=1M conv=fdatasync if=./proxmox-ve_9.2-1.iso of=/dev/sdX

Replace /dev/sdX with your USB device: the command destroys all data on it. On Windows use Rufus in DD mode or balenaEtcher.

Installer steps

Boot the server from the media and choose Install Proxmox VE (Graphical).
Accept the licence agreement.
Select the target disk. The Options button lets you pick the filesystem: ext4 for a single disk or zfs (RAID1) for a two-disk mirror.
Set the country, time zone and keyboard layout.
Set the root password and an email address for system notifications.
Configure the network: management interface, fully qualified hostname (for example pve1.example.com), IP address with netmask, gateway and DNS server.
Review the summary and click Install.

Installation takes a few minutes, then the server reboots. Remove the installation media.

Method 2. Install on top of Debian 13

Start from a minimal Debian 13 (Trixie) install with a static IP address. Run the commands as root.

Hostname

The hostname must resolve to the server’s main IP address, not to 127.0.1.1. Make /etc/hosts look like this:

127.0.0.1       localhost
203.0.113.10    pve1.example.com pve1

Check it:

hostname --ip-address

The command must return the server’s external address.

Proxmox repository

cat > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-install-repo.sources << EOL
Types: deb
URIs: http://download.proxmox.com/debian/pve
Suites: trixie
Components: pve-no-subscription
Signed-By: /usr/share/keyrings/proxmox-archive-keyring.gpg
EOL

wget https://enterprise.proxmox.com/debian/proxmox-archive-keyring-trixie.gpg -O /usr/share/keyrings/proxmox-archive-keyring.gpg

Update the system:

apt update && apt full-upgrade

Proxmox kernel

apt install proxmox-default-kernel
systemctl reboot

Proxmox VE packages

After the reboot, install the main system:

apt install proxmox-ve postfix open-iscsi chrony

When configuring Postfix choose Local only unless the server is part of your mail infrastructure.

Remove the stock Debian kernel and the os-prober package, which is not needed on a hypervisor:

apt remove linux-image-amd64 'linux-image-6.12*'
update-grub
apt remove os-prober

Open in a browser:

https://your-server-ip:8006

The browser warns about a self-signed certificate — continue. Log in as root with the password you set during installation; the realm is Linux PAM standard authentication.

The “no valid subscription” notice at login is normal for the free edition.

Post-install setup

Update repositories

Without a paid subscription the enterprise repository is not accessible and updates fail. Open node → Updates → Repositories:

select the pve-enterprise and ceph enterprise repositories and click Disable;
click Add and choose No-Subscription.

Exactly one Proxmox VE repository should remain enabled. Then update the system from the Updates tab or the shell:

apt update && apt full-upgrade

Images and templates

Open the local → ISO Images storage and add operating system installers with Upload or Download from URL. LXC container templates are downloaded under CT Templates.

Your first virtual machine

Click Create VM, choose the uploaded ISO, and set the disk size, CPU cores and memory. Start the machine and open its console on the Console tab.

What to do right away

Set up backups under Datacenter → Backup. A separate backup storage is a convenient target.
Enable two-factor authentication under Datacenter → Permissions → Two Factor.
Restrict access to port 8006 with the built-in firewall or network-level rules.

Already running the previous release? Follow the Proxmox VE 8 to 9 upgrade guide.

Video walkthrough

The video was recorded for an earlier release: the installer looks different, but the steps are the same.