This section provides commands for managing virtual machines (VMs) and containers (CTs) in Proxmox VE. Learn how to list, start, stop, configure, and perform other operations on your virtualized environments.
Listing and Information
Command
Description
Action
qm list
List all virtual machines
pct list
List all LXC containers
qm config <vmid>
Show VM configuration. Use the correct <vmid>
pct config <ctid>
Show container configuration. Use the correct <ctid>
VM Management
Command
Description
Action
qm start <vmid>
Start a virtual machine. Use the correct <vmid>
qm stop <vmid>
Force stop a virtual machine. Use the correct <vmid>
qm shutdown <vmid>
Gracefully shutdown a virtual machine
qm reset <vmid>
Reset a virtual machine (hard reboot)
qm suspend <vmid>
Suspend a virtual machine
qm resume <vmid>
Resume a suspended virtual machine
qm destroy <vmid>
Delete a VM (irreversible). Use the correct <vmid>
Container Management
Command
Description
Action
pct start <ctid>
Start a container. Use the correct <ctid>
pct stop <ctid>
Force stop a container. Use the correct <ctid>
pct shutdown <ctid>
Gracefully shutdown a container
pct restart <ctid>
Restart a container
pct destroy <ctid>
Delete a CT (irreversible). Use the correct <ctid>
Container Operations
Command
Description
Action
pct exec <ctid> -- getent passwd | column -t -s :
Show CT users in table format
pct exec <ctid> -- ps aux --sort=-%mem | head
Top memory processes in CT
pct enter <ctid>
Enter container shell
pct push <ctid> <source> <dest>
Copy file from host to container
pct pull <ctid> <source> <dest>
Copy file from container to host
Usage Notes
Replace <vmid> with the ID of your virtual machine
Replace <ctid> with the ID of your container
Use qm list or pct list to find the IDs of your VMs and containers
Be careful with destroy commands as they permanently delete the VM or container
