Installing Proxmox

Proxmox VE installs like any operating system: download an ISO, write it to a USB stick, boot the target machine from it, answer a few screens. The whole thing takes about fifteen minutes. The part that trips up every home user comes after the install, and this chapter covers that too.

From the docs: the steps below follow the official Proxmox VE 9 installation documentation. Version references are for VE 9 (current as of October 2026) — grab the latest ISO from the Proxmox download page; the screens haven't meaningfully changed in years.

What you need

A 64-bit machine with virtualization support (Intel VT-x or AMD-V — nearly everything from the last 15 years; check it's enabled in the BIOS/UEFI if the installer complains).
A USB stick, 1 GB or larger.
A wired network connection for the install (Wi-Fi is not supported by the installer — plan for Ethernet).
About 30 minutes.

The install, screen by screen

Download the ISO from proxmox.com's download page and write it to the USB stick (Balena Etcher, Rufus, or dd — your choice).
Boot from the USB and choose Install Proxmox VE (Graphical).
Target disk. Pick the disk Proxmox will own. Everything on it will be erased. (This is the point of no return — double-check you picked the right disk.)
Location and time zone. Affects logs and scheduled backups, nothing more.
Password and email. This sets the root password for the web UI and the system. The email is where Proxmox sends notifications. Write the password down.
Network. Give the machine a static IP on your home network, e.g. 192.168.1.50/24, gateway 192.168.1.1, DNS 192.168.1.1 (or your preferred DNS). Pick an address outside your router's DHCP range so nothing else grabs it. Give the node a hostname like pve (it becomes pve.yourdomain — the domain part barely matters at home).
Install. A few minutes of progress bars. Reboot, remove the USB.

Point a browser on your home network at:

https://192.168.1.50:8006

(using whatever IP you chose). Your browser will warn about the certificate — Proxmox generates a self-signed one, so this is expected on a fresh install; accept the exception. Log in as root with the password you set.

From the docs: the web interface always listens on port 8006 with HTTPS. The certificate warning is normal for the self-signed default.

The repository fix (do this first)

Here's the part that bites everyone. The installer enables the enterprise package repository, which requires a paid subscription key. Without one, apt update errors out and you can't install updates. For a home lab, switch to the free no-subscription repository.

Proxmox VE 9 uses the newer deb822 format (.sources files instead of old one-line .list files). From the official Proxmox package-repository documentation:

# Disable the enterprise repo (no subscription key at home)
# Edit /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-enterprise.sources and add:
#   Enabled: no
# ...or simply delete the file.

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

apt update && apt full-upgrade -y

Honestly labeled: not executed in this build environment — taken from the official Proxmox repository documentation, which is the authoritative source for these paths. The suite name trixie is Debian 13, which VE 9 is built on.

After the upgrade, reboot if a new kernel was installed, then confirm what you're running:

pveversion

Typical output (from the docs — version numbers move with point releases):

pve-manager/9.2-1/... (running kernel: ...)

The subscription nag

Without a paid subscription, the web UI shows a "No valid subscription" popup at every login. It's cosmetic — click through it. It does not limit any feature.

What you have now

A bare Proxmox node: a hypervisor with a web UI, no VMs yet, and working updates. Next: learn your way around the interface in The Web UI Tour.