ProxMenux/web/messages/en/docs/help-info/vm-ct-commands.json

{
  "meta": {
    "title": "Proxmox qm and pct Commands — VM and LXC Container Management | ProxMenux",
    "description": "Reference of Proxmox VE qm and pct commands for VMs and LXC containers: list, config, start, stop, shutdown, reboot, destroy, clone, migrate, snapshot, resize, plus pct exec / enter / push / pull for containers.",
    "ogTitle": "Proxmox qm and pct Commands — VM and LXC Container Management",
    "ogDescription": "Reference of Proxmox VE qm and pct commands — manage virtual machines and LXC containers from the CLI: start, stop, configure, snapshot, migrate, clone, destroy.",
    "twitterTitle": "Proxmox qm / pct Commands | ProxMenux",
    "twitterDescription": "Curated qm / pct commands for managing virtual machines and LXC containers in Proxmox VE."
  },
  "header": {
    "title": "VM and CT Management",
    "description": "Curated reference for the qm (VMs) and pct (LXC containers) commands. Listing, lifecycle (start / stop / shutdown / destroy), config inspection, and container-specific operations like exec, enter, push and pull.",
    "section": "Help and Info"
  },
  "intro": {
    "title": "Find a VMID or CTID first",
    "body": "Almost every command needs a numeric ID. Use <code>qm list</code> for VMs and <code>pct list</code> for containers. Replace <code>&lt;vmid&gt;</code> / <code>&lt;ctid&gt;</code> in the snippets with the actual ID before running."
  },
  "commandGroups": [
    {
      "title": "Listing and Information",
      "commands": [
        {
          "command": "qm list",
          "description": "List all virtual machines"
        },
        {
          "command": "pct list",
          "description": "List all LXC containers"
        },
        {
          "command": "qm config <vmid>",
          "description": "Show VM configuration (parsed by qm)"
        },
        {
          "command": "pct config <ctid>",
          "description": "Show container configuration (parsed by pct)"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "title": "Configuration Files (raw)",
      "commands": [
        {
          "command": "cat /etc/pve/qemu-server/<vmid>.conf",
          "description": "View raw VM configuration file"
        },
        {
          "command": "cat /etc/pve/lxc/<ctid>.conf",
          "description": "View raw CT configuration file"
        },
        {
          "command": "nano /etc/pve/qemu-server/<vmid>.conf",
          "description": "Edit raw VM configuration file (nano)"
        },
        {
          "command": "nano /etc/pve/lxc/<ctid>.conf",
          "description": "Edit raw CT configuration file (nano)"
        },
        {
          "command": "vi /etc/pve/qemu-server/<vmid>.conf",
          "description": "Edit raw VM configuration file (vi)"
        },
        {
          "command": "vi /etc/pve/lxc/<ctid>.conf",
          "description": "Edit raw CT configuration file (vi)"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "title": "VM Management",
      "commands": [
        {
          "command": "qm start <vmid>",
          "description": "Start a virtual machine. Use the correct <vmid>"
        },
        {
          "command": "qm stop <vmid>",
          "description": "Force stop a virtual machine. Use the correct <vmid>"
        },
        {
          "command": "qm shutdown <vmid>",
          "description": "Gracefully shutdown a virtual machine"
        },
        {
          "command": "qm reset <vmid>",
          "description": "Reset a virtual machine (hard reboot)"
        },
        {
          "command": "qm suspend <vmid>",
          "description": "Suspend a virtual machine"
        },
        {
          "command": "qm resume <vmid>",
          "description": "Resume a suspended virtual machine"
        },
        {
          "command": "qm destroy <vmid>",
          "description": "Delete a VM (irreversible). Use the correct <vmid>"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "title": "Container Management",
      "commands": [
        {
          "command": "pct start <ctid>",
          "description": "Start a container. Use the correct <ctid>"
        },
        {
          "command": "pct stop <ctid>",
          "description": "Force stop a container. Use the correct <ctid>"
        },
        {
          "command": "pct shutdown <ctid>",
          "description": "Gracefully shutdown a container"
        },
        {
          "command": "pct reboot <ctid>",
          "description": "Restart a container"
        },
        {
          "command": "pct destroy <ctid>",
          "description": "Delete a CT (irreversible). Use the correct <ctid>"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "title": "Container Operations",
      "commands": [
        {
          "command": "pct exec <ctid> -- getent passwd | column -t -s :",
          "description": "Show CT users in table format"
        },
        {
          "command": "pct exec <ctid> -- ps aux --sort=-%mem | head",
          "description": "Top memory processes in CT"
        },
        {
          "command": "pct enter <ctid>",
          "description": "Enter container shell"
        },
        {
          "command": "pct push <ctid> <source> <dest>",
          "description": "Copy file from host to container"
        },
        {
          "command": "pct pull <ctid> <source> <dest>",
          "description": "Copy file from container to host"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "destroyWarn": {
    "title": "Destroy is irreversible",
    "bodyRich": "<code>qm destroy</code> and <code>pct destroy</code> remove the guest configuration and its managed disk volumes. Do not assume that external or bind-mounted data is deleted. The CLI has no confirmation prompt by default. Back up any data you may need before running it; see <backupLink>Backup and Restore</backupLink>."
  },
  "qmConfigTip": {
    "title": "qm config vs editing the .conf file directly",
    "bodyRich": "<code>qm config &lt;vmid&gt;</code> and <code>pct config &lt;ctid&gt;</code> display configuration through Proxmox’s parsers. For normal changes, prefer <code>qm set</code> or the corresponding pct setter. Direct edits to <code>/etc/pve/qemu-server/&lt;vmid&gt;.conf</code> or <code>/etc/pve/lxc/&lt;ctid&gt;.conf</code> bypass the validation and locking in management commands; the file must still remain parseable. Stop the guest and keep a copy before manual repair. <code>pmxcfs</code> synchronises configuration across cluster nodes, not guest disk contents."
  },
  "related": {
    "heading": "Related",
    "items": [
      {
        "href": "/docs/help-info/backup-commands",
        "label": "Backup and Restore",
        "tail": " — vzdump and qmrestore / pct restore."
      },
      {
        "href": "/docs/help-info/storage-commands",
        "label": "Storage and Disks",
        "tail": " — qm importdisk and disk management."
      },
      {
        "href": "/docs/help-info",
        "label": "Help and Info overview",
        "tail": "."
      }
    ]
  }
}