Backup and Restore Commands This section provides commands for backing up and restoring virtual machines and containers in Proxmox VE. Learn how to create backups, restore from backups, manage backup storage, and schedule automated backups.
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VM Backup Command Description Action vzdump <vmid> Create a backup of a specific VM/CT Copy vzdump <vmid> --storage <storage> Backup VM to specific storage Copy vzdump <vmid> --mode snapshot Create snapshot backup (for VMs) Copy vzdump <vmid> --mode suspend Suspend VM during backup Copy vzdump <vmid> --mode stop Stop VM during backup Copy vzdump --all Backup all VMs and containers Copy vzdump --exclude <vmid1>,<vmid2> Backup all except specified VMs Copy
Backup Options Command Description Action vzdump <vmid> --compress zstd Use zstd compression for backup Copy vzdump <vmid> --pigz <threads> Use pigz with multiple threads Copy vzdump <vmid> --notes <text> Add notes to backup Copy vzdump <vmid> --mailto <email> Send notification email Copy vzdump <vmid> --maxfiles <n> Keep only n backups per VM Copy vzdump <vmid> --stdexcludes 0 Don't exclude temporary files Copy vzdump <vmid> --quiet 1 Suppress output messages Copy
Restore Backups Command Description Action qmrestore <backup-file> <vmid> Restore VM from backup Copy qmrestore <backup-file> <vmid> --storage <storage> Restore to specific storage Copy qmrestore <backup-file> <vmid> --unique Create a VM with unique ID Copy pct restore <vmid> <backup-file> Restore container from backup Copy pct restore <vmid> <backup-file> --storage <storage> Restore container to specific storage Copy pct restore <vmid> <backup-file> --rootfs <storage> Restore to specific rootfs Copy pct restore <vmid> <backup-file> --unprivileged 1 Restore as unprivileged CT Copy
Backup Management Command Description Action ls -la /var/lib/vz/dump/ List backups in default location Copy find /var/lib/vz/dump/ -name "*.vma*" Find VM backups Copy find /var/lib/vz/dump/ -name "*.tar*" Find container backups Copy pvesm list <storage> List backups in specific storage Copy rm /var/lib/vz/dump/<backup-file> Delete a backup file Copy cat /etc/vzdump.conf Show backup configuration Copy
Scheduled Backups Command Description Action cat /etc/cron.d/vzdump Show backup schedule Copy nano /etc/vzdump.conf Edit backup configuration Copy systemctl list-timers List all scheduled tasks Copy systemctl status cron Check cron service status Copy grep vzdump /var/log/syslog Check backup logs in syslog Copy tail -f /var/log/vzdump.log Monitor backup log in real-time Copy
Advanced Operations Command Description Action qmrestore <backup> <vmid> --force Force restore, overwriting existing VM Copy vzdump <vmid> --dumpdir <directory> Specify custom backup directory Copy vzdump <vmid> --script <script> Run hook script during backup Copy vzdump <vmid> --exclude-path <path> Exclude specific paths from backup Copy vzdump <vmid> --ionice <priority> Set I/O priority for backup process Copy vzdump <vmid> --lockwait <minutes> Wait for lock Copy qm importdisk <vmid> <backup> <storage> Import disk from backup Copy
Backup Best Practices Replace <vmid> with your VM or container ID Replace <storage> with your storage name Replace <backup-file> with the path to your backup file Schedule regular backups during off-peak hours to minimize impact on production workloads Store backups on a separate storage device or location for better disaster recovery protection Test your backups regularly by performing test restores to ensure they are working correctly Use --maxfiles to implement backup rotation and prevent storage from filling up Consider using --compress zstd for better compression ratio and performance 