Proxmox CloudInit virtual machine template

Create a Proxmox CloudInit Virtual Machine Template

This guide explains how to create a CloudInit-enabled virtual machine template in Proxmox. Using templates allows you to quickly clone standardized VMs with pre-configured settings like SSH keys and usernames.

Step 1: Create the Base VM

Follow these settings in the Proxmox Virtual Machine wizard:

• General Tab:
  • VM ID: Assign a unique ID (e.g., 5000).
  • Name: Give it a descriptive name (e.g., example-linux-base-template).
  • Keep all other settings at default.
• OS Tab:
  • Select Do not use any media.
  • Guest OS: Ensure this is set to Linux.
• System Tab:
  • Leave all settings at default.
  • You may enable the QEMU Guest Agent.
• Disks Tab:
  • Delete the default disk (we will import our own later).
• CPU Tab:
  • Enter the desired number of CPU cores (you can adjust this later).
• Memory Tab:
  • Enter the desired amount of RAM (you can adjust this later).
• Network Tab:
  • Leave at default settings.
• Confirm Tab:
  • Review all settings. Do not select “Start after created”.

Step 2: Configure CloudInit

Once the VM is created, configure the CloudInit settings:

1. Select the VM you just created.
2. Go to the Hardware tab.
3. Select Add > CloudInit Drive.
4. Select the storage where you want this drive to reside and click OK.
5. Navigate to the CloudInit tab.
6. Enter the required information:
   • User: Define the default username.
   • Password: Set a default password (optional).
   • SSH Keys: Add your public SSH key (highly recommended).
   • IP Config: Select DHCP (or your preferred network configuration).
7. Right-click the VM and select Convert to Template.

Step 3: Cloning the Template

When you need a new VM from this template:

1. Right-click the selected template and select Clone.
2. Enter the desired name and info for the new VM.
3. Mode: Choose Full Clone (unless you specifically require a Linked Clone).
4. Select the target storage and format.

Step 4: Import the Cloud Image

To use a standard cloud image (like Debian), you must import the .qcow2 file to your storage.

1. Find the desired cloud image. For example, the latest Debian bookworm image: https://cloud.debian.org/images/cloud/bookworm/latest/
2. Right-click the .qcow2 file and select Copy link.
3. Select the PVE node where the VM is located and open the Shell.
4. Use wget to download the image:

   wget https://cloud.debian.org/images/cloud/bookworm/latest/debian-12-generic-amd64.qcow2
   

5. Import the disk to the VM (replace 9001 with your VM ID and local with your storage name):

   qm importdisk 9001 debian-12-generic-amd64.qcow2 local --format qcow2
   

6. Once the import is complete, the disk will appear as an Unused Disk 0 in the VM hardware.
7. Select the VM, go to the Hardware tab, select Unused Disk 0, click Edit, and set the appropriate settings (e.g., SCSI or VirtIO Block).
8. Click Add.

Step 5: Finalize and Verify

1. Start the VM.
2. Select the Console tab and log in.
3. Run ip a to verify the IP addresses assigned by DHCP.
4. Try to log in via SSH from your workstation to ensure your keys are working correctly.