Quick Start: Using Template as Base for All LXCs

Step 1: Choose Your Base Template

Run the template script to see available options:

bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/community-scripts/ProxmoxVE/main/tools/addon/all-templates.sh)"

Or list available templates directly:

pveam available | grep -E "debian|ubuntu|alpine"

Step 2: Download the Template (Once)

For example, Debian 12:

pveam download local debian-12-standard_12.2-1_amd64.tar.zst

This downloads the template to your local storage. You only need to do this once.

Step 3: Set Template Variable

Create or update your configuration file with:

# In your deployment config file or .env
export CONTAINER_OS_TEMPLATE="local:vztmpl/debian-12-standard_12.2-1_amd64.tar.zst"

Step 4: Deploy Multiple Containers

Now you can deploy as many containers as needed from this single template:

# Container 1 - Web Server
pct create 100 "$CONTAINER_OS_TEMPLATE" \
  --hostname web1 \
  --memory 2048 \
  --cores 2 \
  --rootfs local-lvm:20 \
  --net0 name=eth0,bridge=vmbr0,ip=dhcp \
  --unprivileged 1

# Container 2 - Database
pct create 101 "$CONTAINER_OS_TEMPLATE" \
  --hostname db1 \
  --memory 4096 \
  --cores 4 \
  --rootfs local-lvm:50 \
  --net0 name=eth0,bridge=vmbr0,ip=dhcp \
  --unprivileged 1

# Container 3 - App Server
pct create 102 "$CONTAINER_OS_TEMPLATE" \
  --hostname app1 \
  --memory 2048 \
  --cores 2 \
  --rootfs local-lvm:30 \
  --net0 name=eth0,bridge=vmbr0,ip=dhcp \
  --unprivileged 1

Step 5: Start Containers

pct start 100
pct start 101
pct start 102

Benefits

✅ One template, unlimited containers - Download once, deploy many times
✅ Storage efficient - Template is reused, only differences are stored
✅ Consistent base - All containers start from the same clean OS
✅ Easy updates - Update template, all new containers get updates
✅ Fast deployment - No need to download template for each container

Your Current Setup

Your deployment scripts already use this pattern! Check:

smom-dbis-138-proxmox/scripts/deployment/deploy-services.sh
smom-dbis-138-proxmox/config/proxmox.conf.example

They use: CONTAINER_OS_TEMPLATE="${CONTAINER_OS_TEMPLATE:-local:vztmpl/debian-12-standard_12.2-1_amd64.tar.zst}"

This means:

If CONTAINER_OS_TEMPLATE is set, use it
Otherwise, default to Debian 12 standard template

Next Steps

Set your template in your config file
Download it once: pveam download local debian-12-standard_12.2-1_amd64.tar.zst
Deploy containers using your deployment scripts - they'll automatically use the template!

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