Proxmox
Open-source Debian-based virtualization platform for managing KVM virtual machines and LXC containers.
HN commenters like Proxmox as the base for a homelab123 and as a viable VMware replacement,45 with built-in ZFS and full CLI and API control.6789 The most common caveat is a learning curve,1011 plus gaps like incomplete cloud-init support and no Raspberry Pi support.1213
Why people recommend it
Homelab foundation · 3
Commenters call it the go-to base for a homelab and a good learning playground.
“I love Proxmox as a virtual server manager - I can't imagine running anything else as a base for a homelab.”
“a Proxmox home lab to be successful and a great learning playground”
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“I love Proxmox. It's one of the few infrastructure tools that defy YAGNI and are almost always a good idea to have no matter how simple your setup is.”
VMware replacement · 3
Seen as a viable VMware alternative, and several people switched from ESXi after the Broadcom acquisition.
“Proxmox is already a very viable VMware replacement”
“I switched to Proxmox 9 in my lab this year and couldn't be happier.”
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“broadcom acquiring vmware so I had to switch to Proxmox”
Automation-friendly · 3
Everything in the GUI can be done via CLI or API, and it works with Terraform.
“CLI is first class in proxmox, I use the qm command for managing vms all the time.”
“I haven't abandoned Proxmox yet, but the take here resonates with me.”
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“I use Proxmox as my infrastructure provider and heavily rely on Terraform to provision resources.”
ZFS and Debian · 3
Commenters value the Debian base, apt repos and first-class ZFS, including ZFS on root from the installer.
“Check out proxmox. Debian base with Debian apt repos available for standard stuff, with ZFS built into their kernels.”
“I love Proxmox as a virtual server manager - I can't imagine running anything else as a base for a homelab.”
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“Proxmox fit my needs much better than wrestling vanilla Ubuntu or Debian into a VM server”
Stable and reliable · 3
Users describe it as stable and reliable, in some cases running well for many years.
“Proxmox been great for decades.”
“Proxmox itself is fairly stable”
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“Proxmox fit my needs much better than wrestling vanilla Ubuntu or Debian into a VM server”
Good enough for orgs · 3
Used at day jobs for non-compute and colocated infrastructure, and considered good enough for most organizations.
“At my $dayjob we use Proxmox and it's good enough. I think Proxmox would be good enough for most orgs.”
“we use Proxmox for our non-compute infrastructure (LDAP, SMTP, SSH jump boxes)”
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“A terraform repo contains the 2 colocation datacenter proxmox environments”
Caveats and dissent
Learning curve · 2
Commenters say it takes some learning and wish it were more straightforward.
“proxmox has been great although it comes with a learning curve”
Cloud-init gaps · 1
One commenter says cloud-init support has holes and that Proxmox has too many compromises.
“Proxmox has too many compromises though.”
No Raspberry Pi · 1
It can't be used on a Raspberry Pi.
“I love Proxmox. It's one of the few infrastructure tools that defy YAGNI and are almost always a good idea to have no matter how simple your setup is.”
CephFS small files · 1
One user finds CephFS on their Proxmox cluster weak with many small files.
“I use cephfs on my proxmox cluster”
HA limits · 1
Enabling HA doesn't by itself guarantee that applications recover after a failure.
“Enabling HA in your Proxmox cluster is a step in the right direction.”
Often compared with
Who recommends it in their own words
Threads where it came up
- Migrating from Proxmox to NixOS and Incus 5 mentions
- Running MicroVMs in Proxmox VE, the Easy Way 3 mentions
- From Proxmox to FreeBSD and Sylve in Our Office Lab 3 mentions
- Incus-OS: Immutable Linux OS to run Incus as a hypervisor 3 mentions
- Things you don't need to run a Proxmox home lab 2 mentions
- I Don't Maintain My Homelab 2 mentions
Also written as Proxmox VE. Data: proxmox.json. Quotes are verbatim; the verdict and theme labels are written by a model from these comments, and every clause links to its sources.
All comments 45
“Enabling HA in your Proxmox cluster is a step in the right direction.”
“it's a fairly boring proxmox server”
“You may only have the resources for a single Proxmox server to start out in your home lab.”
“I used to use it for storage for the Proxmox VMs”
“a Proxmox home lab to be successful and a great learning playground”
“At some point I had thought of using proxmox with lxc”
“we used Proxmox as host to spin up ready images built with Packer”
“I run Proxmox LXC containers at home managed via Ansible.”
“running under ProxMox”
“I repurposed my old macbook pro from 2013 as dedicated Proxmox machine.”
“set up containers on a proxmox server”
“We also take a look at Proxmox VM firewall rules for blocking traffic between workloads on the same VLAN.”
“I use prowlarr and radarr in my hone proxmox setup.”
“Check out proxmox. Debian base with Debian apt repos available for standard stuff, with ZFS built into their kernels.”
“before I start moving real workloads over to a new Proxmox host”
“Proxmox been great for decades.”
“At my $dayjob we use Proxmox and it's good enough. I think Proxmox would be good enough for most orgs.”
“Linux is superb for servers—I use Proxmox VE as the hypervisor on my homelab”
“My codex will ADB into my NVIDIA Shield and proxmox and setup accounts”
“there are some scripts that make it easy from Proxmox that I use”
“I also run them on VMs on my home Proxmox box.”
“Gemma4 screwed up a proxmox install I had.”
“I love Proxmox. It's one of the few infrastructure tools that defy YAGNI and are almost always a good idea to have no matter how simple your setup is.”
“I use a proxmox server with pcie passthrough to a fedora instance with steam on it.”
“I use cephfs on my proxmox cluster”
“Proxmox fit my needs much better than wrestling vanilla Ubuntu or Debian into a VM server”
“running it in a container on a VM on proxmox”
“since I use Proxmox I used that to manage the volumes”
“I used the proxmox lxc for it”
“spin everything up via PXE to install Proxmox, Ubuntu”
“broadcom acquiring vmware so I had to switch to Proxmox”
“And you can run it in proxmox.”
“A terraform repo contains the 2 colocation datacenter proxmox environments”
“I use across Proxmoxes and VMs”
“I do not log into Proxmox to deploy my stuff, I enjoy CLI”
“CLI is first class in proxmox, I use the qm command for managing vms all the time.”
“I haven't abandoned Proxmox yet, but the take here resonates with me.”
“I have a beefy home lab (Dual Xeon Silver 4116 with 384GB, and 12TB of RAID10 SSD connected via 10gig)”
“proxmox has been great although it comes with a learning curve”
“Proxmox is already a very viable VMware replacement”
“Proxmox has too many compromises though.”
“I run Proxmox at home for my homelab.”
“I love Proxmox as a virtual server manager - I can't imagine running anything else as a base for a homelab.”
“I switched to Proxmox 9 in my lab this year and couldn't be happier.”
“I love it, I use it”