# Repository choice in dependency and safe-update flows

On PVE 8/9, the shared helper checks `pvesubscription get` (only the `status` field, never logging the key) and reads parsed APT sources through Proxmox's `/nodes/localhost/apt/repositories` API. An **active** subscription preserves the configured Enterprise repository and all other sources; if no PVE channel is active, the flow stops for manual repair rather than adding one. An already active PVE no-subscription or test channel is likewise preserved. Repository files may use custom names, `.list` or deb822 `.sources`, and mirrors; presence of a filename alone does not establish an active channel.

A fresh ISO may have Enterprise enabled but **no subscription** (`status: notfound`). Before changing anything, interactive flows ask: **“This host has no subscription, switch to the no-subscription repository?”** Acceptance disables active Enterprise PVE entries with Proxmox's per-entry API and adds Proxmox's standard no-subscription PVE repository. If an Enterprise Ceph source is active, it is disabled too, but **no Ceph replacement is chosen**: the appropriate Ceph release/channel must be selected separately in **Node > Updates > Repositories** if Ceph is used. Unrelated stanzas and Debian sources remain untouched. A mixed-component Enterprise stanza cannot be disabled safely, so the flow stops for manual splitting instead. A missing Debian base source also stops for manual configuration, rather than guessing a mirror.

Declining or running without an interactive terminal/web dialog makes **no source changes**. Unrecognized, expired, invalid, suspended, malformed, or unavailable subscription status is **not** interpreted as no subscription; lookup and repository parser errors stop before changes. The apply step rechecks the subscription and repository inventory and uses the API digest on writes. A failure during a multi-entry API update can leave a partial switch; inspect the repository UI before retrying. General APT error-handling policy is unchanged in this focused patch; stricter index refresh and broader dependency validation remain separate work. The NVIDIA interactive driver installer checks repositories before downloading or removing the working driver, and the noninteractive reinstall propagates refusal.

This policy does **not** change the legacy automated post-install repository updater, which separately advertises and asks for free repositories. No fresh-ISO live integration has been run; fixture tests exercise the policy without touching the host's APT configuration.

Primary references: [Proxmox subscription CLI and status schema](https://github.com/proxmox/pve-manager/blob/master/PVE/CLI/pvesubscription.pm), [Proxmox APT repository API](https://github.com/proxmox/pve-manager/blob/master/PVE/API2/APT.pm), [Proxmox standard repository definitions](https://github.com/proxmox/proxmox-rs/blob/master/proxmox-apt/src/repositories/standard.rs), [Package Repositories](https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Package_Repositories).