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The Web UI Tour

Everything in Proxmox VE is manageable from the web interface at https://your-server:8006. The command line exists and is fully capable — and this guide teaches the key commands — but the UI is how you'll spend most of your time. Here's the map.

From the docs: the layout below follows the official Proxmox VE documentation. Menu names are as they appear in VE 9.

The resource tree (left side)

The left panel is a tree of everything Proxmox manages:

Datacenter
└── pve                      ← your node (one, for now)
    ├── local (pve)          ← storage: ISOs, templates, backups
    ├── local-lvm (pve)       ← storage: VM disks
    ├── 100 (debian-test)     ← a VM (once you make one)
    └── 101 (docker-host)     ← a container
  • Datacenter is the top: settings that apply to the whole setup (users, storage definitions, backup jobs, firewall).
  • Node (pve) is one physical machine: its VMs, containers, disks, network, updates, and logs.
  • Storage entries live under the node: each is a place files can go, with a content type saying what's allowed there (ISO images, container templates, backups, VM disks).
  • VMs and containers appear by their numeric ID, with the name in parentheses.

IDs are numbers from 100 upward. You'll pick them when creating guests; Proxmox suggests the next free one.

Selecting something (center panel)

Click any tree item and the center shows tabs for it:

  • A VM shows Summary (is it running? how much CPU/RAM is it using?), Console (a noVNC window — the VM's screen, in your browser, no extra software), Hardware (its virtual disks, network cards, CD drive), Options, Task History, Monitor, and Backup.
  • A node shows Summary, Notes, Shell (a root terminal in the browser — genuinely useful), System log, Updates, Firewall, Disks, Network, and more.
  • Datacenter shows cluster-wide Storage, Backup (where scheduled backup jobs live), Users, and HA.

The Console tab deserves emphasis: it's a full graphical console to any VM, right in the browser. Installing an OS happens through this window.

The task log (bottom)

Every action — in the UI or on the command line — creates a task shown in the bottom panel: UPID, what it did, when it started, whether it succeeded. When something fails, this is where you look first: double-click the task for its full log output. Half of Proxmox troubleshooting is reading task logs.

The shell

Node → Shell drops you into a root shell on the Proxmox host itself, in the browser. This is where the qm and pct commands from this guide run. It's the real host — treat it with the respect root deserves.

What to click first

  1. Click your node → Summary. Confirm CPU, memory, and uptime look right.
  2. Click Shell. Run pveversion (from the docs — prints the Proxmox VE version).
  3. Click Datacenter → Storage. Note what local and local-lvm allow — this is where your ISOs will go in the next chapter.

You now know where everything lives. Time to make your first machine in Your First VM.