How to Install Proxmox VE (Step by Step)

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You can install Proxmox VE in under 30 minutes: download the ISO from proxmox.com, write a bootable USB stick, boot the installer, choose the target disk and filesystem, set network and password, done. After the first reboot you manage everything through the web interface at https://SERVER-IP:8006. This guide covers the general bare-metal install on your own or rented hardware. If you are setting Proxmox up at a host without a KVM console, see the provider-specific Install Proxmox on Hetzner guide instead.

The current release as of June 2026 is Proxmox VE 9.2, based on Debian 13 "Trixie". For a fresh install always grab the latest ISO rather than an older 8.x version.

Check the requirements

Before you start, make sure the hardware fits:

CPU virtualization extensions (Intel VT-x / AMD-V) are mandatory and must be enabled in the BIOS/UEFI, otherwise no KVM VM will start. For sizing production systems, see Proxmox hardware and sizing. For background on what Proxmox is and does, read What is Proxmox.

Step 1: Download the ISO

Download the current ISO from proxmox.com/en/downloads under "Proxmox Virtual Environment" (file proxmox-ve_9.2-1.iso, around 1.7 GB). Then verify the SHA256 checksum against the value shown on the download page to rule out a corrupted or tampered file:

sha256sum proxmox-ve_9.2-1.iso

Step 2: Create a bootable USB stick

You need a USB stick larger than the ISO (4 GB is plenty). Note: UNetbootin does not work with the Proxmox image, and Rufus must run in DD mode, not ISO mode.

Be absolutely sure you target the correct drive. dd overwrites the target without asking, and a wrong letter wipes another disk.

Step 3: Boot the installer

Plug the stick into the target server, select it as the boot device in the BIOS/UEFI boot menu and start. The Proxmox installer offers several modes:

• Install Proxmox VE (Graphical) - the normal graphical installer and the right choice for most systems.
• Install Proxmox VE (Terminal UI) - the same steps as a text-based installer, with better compatibility on very old or very new hardware.
• Terminal UI, Serial Console - for headless servers reachable only over a serial console.
• Automated - a fully automated, unattended install driven by an answer file.

For a normal first install, choose the graphical installer and accept the EULA.

Step 4: Choose target disk and filesystem

In the "Target Harddisk" step, select the disk Proxmox will be installed on. Under "Options" you set the filesystem. This choice can only be changed later by reinstalling, so decide deliberately:

Recommendation: for a single disk or an existing hardware RAID, ext4 is enough. If you have two or more disks and want redundancy, snapshots and later cluster replication, choose ZFS (for example RAID1 as a mirror across two SSDs).

Step 5: Location, password and email

Next the installer asks for:

• Location and time zone (also used to pick a nearby package mirror) and the keyboard layout.
• Root password with at least 8 characters. For production servers use a long, random password.
• Administrator email for system notifications, for example about backup or storage problems. Enter an address that is actually monitored.

Step 6: Network and hostname

In the network step you configure the management interface:

• Hostname (FQDN), for example pve01.example.com. Changing it later takes effort, so set it cleanly now.
• IP address with CIDR (for example 192.168.10.20/24), gateway and DNS server.

The installer configures a single IP stack during installation (IPv4 or IPv6). By default it creates a bridge vmbr0 that VMs and containers attach to later.

Step 7: Finish the install and first login

Confirm the summary. Installation takes a few minutes depending on hardware. Remove the USB stick after the automatic reboot.

In a browser on another machine on the same network, open:

https://SERVER-IP:8006

The self-signed certificate triggers a browser warning that you accept for first access. Log in with user root, realm PAM and the password set during installation. You are now in the Proxmox web interface.

Step 8: Set up the no-subscription repository

After a fresh install the enterprise repository is active. Without a valid subscription key, apt update fails there with a 401 error. For test and homelab systems, configure the free no-subscription repository instead.

Option A (web UI): Under Node > Updates > Repositories, disable the two enterprise entries (PVE and Ceph) and add the no-subscription repository via "Add".

Option B (CLI): Proxmox VE 9 uses the deb822 format. Disable the enterprise repo by adding the line Enabled: no to /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-enterprise.sources, then create /etc/apt/sources.list.d/proxmox.sources:

Types: deb
URIs: http://download.proxmox.com/debian/pve
Suites: trixie
Components: pve-no-subscription
Signed-By: /usr/share/keyrings/proxmox-archive-keyring.gpg

Never mix enterprise and no-subscription sources at the same time. At login you will also see a "No valid subscription" notice. How to remove it cleanly is covered in Remove the Proxmox subscription notice.

Step 9: First update

Bring the fresh system up to date:

apt update
apt full-upgrade -y
reboot

After the reboot, check the version:

pveversion

The output should read pve-manager/9.2.x. The base is now ready: you can attach storage, upload ISOs and create your first VM or container.

Common mistakes

• KVM will not start: virtualization extensions not enabled in BIOS/UEFI. Turn on VT-x or AMD-V.
• apt update fails with 401: enterprise repo active without a subscription. Switch to no-subscription (Step 8).
• Web UI unreachable: wrong IP/gateway in the network step, or port 8006 blocked by a firewall.
• Rufus stick will not boot: Rufus was not used in DD mode. Rewrite the ISO in DD mode.

Operations and support

The install is the easy part. Production operation means clean storage and network design, hardening, backups with Proxmox Backup Server and monitoring. WZ-IT plans, installs and operates Proxmox environments for companies, from a single server to an HA cluster. Learn more on our Proxmox and private cloud page, or book a free initial consultation directly.