---
title: Proxmox — Create Ubuntu VM (Cloud-Init)
type: runbook
tags:
  - proxmox
aliases: []
related:
  - [[ct-runbook]]
  - [[environment]]
  - [[proxmox-onboard-node]]
  - [[headscale-onboard-node]]
  - [[pi-nas-omv-runbook]]
updated: 2026-06-18
---
# Proxmox — Create Ubuntu VM (Cloud-Init)

Automated VM creation using Ubuntu cloud images. No interactive installer needed.

## Prerequisites

- SSH access to the target Proxmox host (directly or via jump box)
- Headscale running on Contabo with a valid preauth key
- Target Proxmox host has sufficient resources (check with `pvesm status`, `free -h`, `nproc`)

## Variables — Prompt the User

**Before executing any steps, prompt the user for ALL of the following values.** Present them one group at a time. Suggest defaults in parentheses where noted. Do not proceed until all values are confirmed.

### Group 1 — Identity
Prompt for these first:
- **VM name** — hostname for the VM (e.g., `cortex`)
- **Proxmox host** — which node to create it on? (e.g., `toc`, `data`, `utility`)

### Group 2 — Networking
Once identity is set, prompt:
- **VMID** — 150-199 range per convention. Suggest next available by checking `qm list` on the host.
- **Static IP** — suggest matching VMID (e.g., VMID 150 → 192.168.1.150). Verify it's not already in use.
- **Gateway** — (default: `192.168.1.1`)

### Group 3 — Resources
Prompt for hardware allocation. Check host resources first (`nproc`, `free -h`, `pvesm status`) and suggest reasonable values:
- **CPU cores/threads** — how many to allocate?
- **RAM (MB)** — how much?
- **Disk (GB)** — how large?

### Group 4 — Features
Prompt yes/no for each:
- **GPU passthrough?** — if yes, detect PCI address automatically via `lspci -nn | grep -i nvidia` on the host. Requires IOMMU+VFIO already configured.
- **Install Docker?**
- **Install NVIDIA drivers?** — only relevant if GPU passthrough is yes.
- **Install Node.js?** — for Claude Code.
- **Register with Tailscale?** — if yes, Tailscale hostname defaults to VM name.

### Summary
After collecting all values, present a summary table and ask for confirmation before executing.

## Step 1 — Download Ubuntu Cloud Image

Check if image already exists on the host. Only download if missing.

```bash
ssh root@$PVE_HOST 'ls /var/lib/vz/template/iso/noble-server-cloudimg-amd64.img 2>/dev/null \
  || wget -P /var/lib/vz/template/iso/ \
  https://cloud-images.ubuntu.com/noble/current/noble-server-cloudimg-amd64.img'
```

## Step 2 — Create VM

```bash
ssh root@$PVE_HOST "qm create $VMID \
  --name $VM_NAME \
  --memory $RAM_MB \
  --cores $CORES \
  --cpu cputype=host \
  --scsihw virtio-scsi-single \
  --net0 virtio,bridge=vmbr0 \
  --ostype l26 \
  --bios ovmf \
  --efidisk0 local-lvm:1 \
  --machine q35 \
  --agent enabled=1 \
  --onboot 1"
```

## Step 3 — Import Cloud Image as Disk

```bash
ssh root@$PVE_HOST "qm importdisk $VMID /var/lib/vz/template/iso/noble-server-cloudimg-amd64.img local-lvm"

# Attach the imported disk (disk name is vm-$VMID-disk-1)
ssh root@$PVE_HOST "qm set $VMID --scsi0 local-lvm:vm-${VMID}-disk-1,iothread=1,discard=on"

# Resize
ssh root@$PVE_HOST "qm resize $VMID scsi0 ${DISK_GB}G"
```

## Step 4 — Configure Cloud-Init

```bash
# Add cloud-init drive
ssh root@$PVE_HOST "qm set $VMID --ide2 local-lvm:cloudinit"

# Ensure SSH keys exist on the Proxmox host
# If not, pull from another node:
ssh root@$PVE_HOST 'test -f /root/.ssh/authorized_keys || echo "ERROR: No SSH keys on host"'

# Configure cloud-init
ssh root@$PVE_HOST "qm set $VMID \
  --ciuser zvx \
  --cipassword temp-change-me \
  --ipconfig0 ip=${VM_IP}/24,gw=${GATEWAY} \
  --nameserver 1.1.1.1 \
  --searchdomain echo6.co \
  --sshkeys /root/.ssh/authorized_keys \
  --boot order=scsi0"
```

### Alternative: Use standard Echo6 cloud-init snippet

If the snippet is already on the node (deployed by `echo6-onboard-node.sh`), you can use it instead of the manual `--ciuser`/`--cipassword` config above. This pre-installs sshpass, curl, git, htop, and other standard packages via cloud-init:

```bash
ssh root@$PVE_HOST "qm set $VMID --cicustom \"user=local:snippets/echo6-base-userdata.yml\""
```

**Note:** You still need `--ipconfig0`, `--nameserver`, `--searchdomain`, `--sshkeys`, and `--boot` from the block above. The snippet only covers packages and `manage_etc_hosts`.

## Step 5 — GPU Passthrough (if enabled)

Skip if `GPU_PASSTHROUGH=no`.

Requires IOMMU and VFIO already configured on the Proxmox host. Verify first:

```bash
ssh root@$PVE_HOST 'dmesg | grep -i "IOMMU enabled"'
ssh root@$PVE_HOST "lspci -nnk -s $GPU_PCI_ADDR | grep 'Kernel driver in use: vfio-pci'"
```

If both check out:

```bash
ssh root@$PVE_HOST "qm set $VMID --hostpci0 ${GPU_PCI_ADDR},pcie=1,x-vga=0"
```

If VFIO is NOT configured, stop and follow the IOMMU/VFIO setup procedure before continuing.

## Step 6 — Start VM and Wait for Boot

```bash
ssh root@$PVE_HOST "qm config $VMID"
ssh root@$PVE_HOST "qm start $VMID"

echo "Waiting for VM to boot and run cloud-init..."
sleep 60
until ssh -o ConnectTimeout=5 -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no zvx@$VM_IP 'hostname' 2>/dev/null; do
  echo "Still waiting..."
  sleep 15
done
```

If the VM doesn't come up after 3 minutes, check the console via Proxmox web UI or:

```bash
ssh root@$PVE_HOST "qm terminal $VMID"
```

## Step 7 — Base System Setup

```bash
ssh zvx@$VM_IP 'sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y \
  sshpass curl wget git htop iotop tmux vim \
  rsync tree jq unzip \
  net-tools dnsutils \
  python3 python3-pip python3-venv \
  sudo'
```

## Step 8 — Enable Password Authentication

Ubuntu cloud images default to key-only SSH via a drop-in config. Enable password auth since all machines are behind VPN/local network.

```bash
# Fix the cloud-init drop-in that disables password auth
ssh zvx@$VM_IP 'echo "PasswordAuthentication yes" | sudo tee /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/60-cloudimg-settings.conf'

# Also set in main config for completeness
ssh zvx@$VM_IP 'sudo sed -i "s/^#*PasswordAuthentication.*/PasswordAuthentication yes/" /etc/ssh/sshd_config'
ssh zvx@$VM_IP 'sudo sed -i "s/^#*KbdInteractiveAuthentication.*/KbdInteractiveAuthentication yes/" /etc/ssh/sshd_config'
ssh zvx@$VM_IP 'sudo systemctl restart ssh'

# Change the default password immediately
ssh zvx@$VM_IP 'passwd'
```

**Important:** Password authentication is the default for Echo6 infrastructure. All machines are protected by VPN (Headscale/Tailscale) and local network — key-only auth creates unnecessary friction for multi-machine access.

## Step 9 — NVIDIA Drivers (if GPU passthrough)

Skip if `INSTALL_NVIDIA=no`.

```bash
ssh zvx@$VM_IP 'lspci | grep -i nvidia'

# Install driver
ssh zvx@$VM_IP 'sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y nvidia-driver-550'
ssh zvx@$VM_IP 'sudo reboot'

sleep 60
until ssh -o ConnectTimeout=5 zvx@$VM_IP 'hostname' 2>/dev/null; do
  echo "Waiting for reboot..."
  sleep 15
done

ssh zvx@$VM_IP 'nvidia-smi'
```

Verify: `nvidia-smi` should show the GPU name, driver version, and VRAM.

## Step 10 — Docker (if enabled)

Skip if `INSTALL_DOCKER=no`.

```bash
ssh zvx@$VM_IP 'curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh'
ssh zvx@$VM_IP 'sudo usermod -aG docker zvx'
```

### NVIDIA Container Toolkit (only if GPU + Docker)

```bash
ssh zvx@$VM_IP 'curl -fsSL https://nvidia.github.io/libnvidia-container/gpgkey | \
  sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/nvidia-container-toolkit-keyring.gpg && \
  curl -s -L https://nvidia.github.io/libnvidia-container/stable/deb/nvidia-container-toolkit.list | \
  sed "s#deb https://#deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nvidia-container-toolkit-keyring.gpg] https://#g" | \
  sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nvidia-container-toolkit.list'

ssh zvx@$VM_IP 'sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y nvidia-container-toolkit'
ssh zvx@$VM_IP 'sudo nvidia-ctk runtime configure --runtime=docker'
ssh zvx@$VM_IP 'sudo systemctl restart docker'

# Test
ssh zvx@$VM_IP 'docker run --rm --gpus all nvidia/cuda:12.4.0-base-ubuntu24.04 nvidia-smi'
```

## Step 11 — Node.js (if enabled)

Skip if `INSTALL_NODEJS=no`.

```bash
ssh zvx@$VM_IP 'curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | sudo bash - && \
  sudo apt-get install -y nodejs'
```

## Step 12 — Tailscale Registration

Generate a preauth key on Contabo first:

```bash
docker exec headscale headscale preauthkeys create --user echo6 --reusable --expiration 72h
```

Then register the VM:

```bash
ssh zvx@$VM_IP 'curl -fsSL https://tailscale.com/install.sh | sh'
ssh zvx@$VM_IP 'sudo systemctl enable tailscaled && sudo systemctl start tailscaled'
ssh zvx@$VM_IP "sudo tailscale up --login-server https://vpn.echo6.co --auth-key <KEY> --hostname $TAILSCALE_HOSTNAME"

# Verify
ssh zvx@$VM_IP 'tailscale status'
docker exec headscale headscale nodes list
```

## Step 13 — Final Verification

```bash
ssh zvx@$VM_IP "
  echo '=== Hostname ===' && hostname
  echo '=== IP ===' && ip -4 addr show | grep 'inet 192'
  echo '=== Kernel ===' && uname -r
  echo '=== GPU ===' && (nvidia-smi --query-gpu=name,driver_version,memory.total --format=csv,noheader 2>/dev/null || echo 'No GPU')
  echo '=== Docker ===' && (docker --version 2>/dev/null || echo 'Not installed')
  echo '=== Docker GPU ===' && (docker run --rm --gpus all nvidia/cuda:12.4.0-base-ubuntu24.04 nvidia-smi --query-gpu=name --format=csv,noheader 2>/dev/null || echo 'N/A')
  echo '=== Tailscale ===' && tailscale status
  echo '=== Node.js ===' && (node --version 2>/dev/null || echo 'Not installed')
  echo '=== Python ===' && python3 --version
  echo '=== Disk ===' && df -h /
"

docker exec headscale headscale nodes list
```

## Post-Creation

1. Update `/home/zvx/projects/.ref/docs/hardware/environment.md` with the new VM's IP and Tailscale IP
2. Update `/home/zvx/projects/.ref/docs/services/services.md` once [[services]] are deployed
3. Remove the cloud image ISO if disk space is tight: `ssh root@$PVE_HOST 'rm /var/lib/vz/template/iso/noble-server-cloudimg-amd64.img'`
