Create a Debian VM in Proxmox VE

This article shows the installation of a virtual machine with Debian 12 on a Proxmox VE 8.1 system. The VM installed in this way can also be used as the basis for a cloud-init template if the cloud-init package is also installed in the VM.

Create virtual machine

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  Log in to the Proxmox VE web interface and click on Create VM.
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  Select a name for the VM and click on Advanced if you want to see the advanced options.
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  Click on Next.
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  Select the desired ISO image (see also Proxmox upload ISO image) for the installation.
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  Click on Next.
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  If necessary, adjust the system options and click on Next.
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  Select the desired size of the virtual drive and click on Next.
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  Check the selected CPU type and click on Next.
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  Select the desired size of the working memory and click on Next.
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  Select the desired network and click on Next.
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  Check the settings and click on Finish.

Install Debian on the guest system

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  Select the VM you have just created on the left and click on Start.
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  Click on Console.
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  The Debian Installer starts. You can now follow most of the installation as shown in Installing Debian.
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  This screenshot shows the virtual drive for the installation.
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  The installation is complete.
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  The virtual machine with Debian is now started.

Install qemu-guest-agent

Finally, install the qemu-guest-agent in the virtual machine:

sudo apt install qemu-guest-agent
systemctl start qemu-guest-agent
systemctl enable qemu-guest-agent

In order for this to be used by Proxmox, activate the agent by selecting the Use QEMU Guest Agent option:

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References

Author: Werner Fischer Werner Fischer, working in the Knowledge Transfer team at Thomas-Krenn, completed his studies of Computer and Media Security at FH Hagenberg in Austria. He is a regular speaker at many conferences like LinuxTag, OSMC, OSDC, LinuxCon, and author for various IT magazines. In his spare time he enjoys playing the piano and training for a good result at the annual Linz marathon relay.