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name: vm-ops description: Safe VM operations (start, stop, destroy) via protected wrapper script

VM Operations Skill

CRITICAL SAFETY RULE

NEVER run Proxmox commands directly via SSH.

Always use the wrapper script vms/proxmox-ops.sh which:

• Checks VMIDs against the readonly list before ANY destructive operation
• Protects production VMs (104, 109) from accidental modification
• Provides consistent error handling and logging

Protected VMs (READONLY)

These VMIDs are protected and the wrapper will REFUSE operations on them:

If you need to manage these VMs, they must be moved from imported to managed in vms/definitions.nix first.

Commands

View Operations (safe, no protection needed)

Copy# List all VMs
./vms/proxmox-ops.sh list

# Get VM status
./vms/proxmox-ops.sh status <vmid>

# Get VM configuration
./vms/proxmox-ops.sh config <vmid>

# Get VM IP address
./vms/proxmox-ops.sh get-ip <vmid>

# Get storage status
./vms/proxmox-ops.sh storage

# Get next available VMID
./vms/proxmox-ops.sh next-vmid [start] [end]

Lifecycle Operations (protected)

Copy# Start VM
./vms/proxmox-ops.sh start <vmid>

# Stop VM (immediate)
./vms/proxmox-ops.sh stop <vmid>

# Shutdown VM (graceful)
./vms/proxmox-ops.sh shutdown <vmid>

# Destroy VM (requires explicit confirmation)
./vms/proxmox-ops.sh destroy <vmid> yes

Configuration Operations (protected)

Copy# Configure CPU/RAM
./vms/proxmox-ops.sh configure <vmid> <cores> <memory_mb>

# Resize disk
./vms/proxmox-ops.sh resize <vmid> <disk> <size>
# Example: ./vms/proxmox-ops.sh resize 110 scsi0 +10G

# Create disk
./vms/proxmox-ops.sh create-disk <vmid> <size> [storage] [disk]

SSH Operations

Copy# Wait for SSH to become available
./vms/proxmox-ops.sh wait-ssh <ip> [timeout] [user]
# Example: ./vms/proxmox-ops.sh wait-ssh 192.168.1.163 120 abl030

Serial Console

Copy# Stream serial console (interactive when run in a real TTY)
./vms/proxmox-ops.sh console <vmid>

Examples

Restart a managed VM

Copy./vms/proxmox-ops.sh stop 110
./vms/proxmox-ops.sh start 110

Check if a VM is running

Copy./vms/proxmox-ops.sh status 110
# Output: status: running

Stream VM serial console

Copy./vms/proxmox-ops.sh console 9003

Destroy a test VM

Copy# This will FAIL on protected VMIDs (104, 109)
./vms/proxmox-ops.sh destroy 110 yes

Attempting operation on protected VM

Copy./vms/proxmox-ops.sh stop 104
# ERROR: VMID 104 is marked as READONLY (imported).
# Operation 'stop' is not allowed on imported VMs.

What NOT to Do

WRONG - Direct SSH command:

Copyssh root@192.168.1.12 "qm stop 104"  # DANGEROUS - bypasses protection!

RIGHT - Use wrapper:

Copy./vms/proxmox-ops.sh stop 104  # Will be blocked with clear error

VMID Ranges

Related Files