{ "meta": { "title": "Proxmox Utilities — UUP Dump, PVE 8 to 9 Upgrade, OVA Export/Import | ProxMenux", "description": "Day-to-day Proxmox VE utilities: build Windows ISOs from UUP Dump, install curated CLI tools, run a safe Proxmox system update, perform the major-version PVE 8 to PVE 9 upgrade, export VMs to OVA / OVF and import OVA / OVF VMs from VMware or VirtualBox.", "ogTitle": "Proxmox Utilities — UUP Dump, PVE 8 to 9 Upgrade, OVA Export/Import", "ogDescription": "Build Windows ISOs, install CLI tools, run a safe update, upgrade PVE 8 to PVE 9, export / import OVA / OVF VMs.", "twitterTitle": "Proxmox Utilities | ProxMenux", "twitterDescription": "ISO creation, CLI tools, Proxmox update, PVE 8→9 upgrade, OVA / OVF VM portability." }, "header": { "title": "Utilities & Tools", "description": "Six tools that round out the day-to-day Proxmox VE workflow: ISO creation, system maintenance and VM portability. Each option is independent — pick the one you need; nothing is installed until you ask for it.", "section": "Utilities" }, "intro": { "title": "What this menu is for", "body": "Three groups of unrelated but commonly-needed tools: build a Windows ISO from UUP Dump, maintain the Proxmox host (CLI utilities, updates, the major-version upgrade), and move VMs in and out of Proxmox using the standard OVA / OVF format." }, "opening": { "heading": "Opening the menu", "body": "From ProxMenux's main menu, select Utilities. You will see this:", "imageAlt": "Utilities menu with UUP Dump, system utilities, update, upgrade, export and import" }, "groups": { "heading": "Three tool groups", "intro": "The six tools fall into three independent groups. Click a card below to jump to the matching section.", "iso": { "title": "ISO creation", "body": "Build official Windows ISOs from UUP Dump on the Proxmox host itself.", "bullets": [ "UUP Dump shared link → bootable ISO", "Dependencies installed automatically", "Result drops into Proxmox's ISO template path" ] }, "maintenance": { "title": "System maintenance", "body": "Keep the host healthy: CLI tooling, regular updates, and the major-version upgrade when it's time.", "bullets": [ "System Utilities Installer (26 CLI tools)", "Proxmox System Update (apt + dist-upgrade)", "PVE 8 → PVE 9 major upgrade" ] }, "portability": { "title": "VM portability", "body": "Move VMs in and out of Proxmox using the standard OVA / OVF format.", "bullets": [ "Export Proxmox VM → OVA / OVF", "Import OVA / OVF → Proxmox VM", "Compatible with VMware and VirtualBox" ] } }, "upgradeWarn": { "title": "The PVE 8 → 9 upgrade is destructive and not reversible", "body": "A major-version upgrade rewrites the Debian base (Bookworm → Trixie) and the Proxmox stack in place. There is no rollback path — you need verified backups of every VM and CT and console / IPMI / iKVM access before you start. The upgrade tool refuses to run from the Proxmox web terminal for this reason." }, "isoSection": { "heading": "ISO creation", "body": "Build a fresh, up-to-date Windows installation ISO directly on the Proxmox host. The script automates the whole UUP Dump flow: dependency install (aria2c, cabextract, wimlib-imagex, …), parallelised download of the update files via aria2, and conversion into a single bootable ISO that lands in /var/lib/vz/template/iso ready to attach to a VM.", "options": [ { "title": "UUP Dump ISO Creator", "description": "Build an up-to-date Windows installation ISO from a UUP Dump shared link. Dependencies, download and conversion fully automated; the resulting ISO lands in /var/lib/vz/template/iso ready for VM creation.", "href": "/docs/utils/UUp-Dump-ISO-Creator" } ] }, "maintenanceSection": { "heading": "System maintenance", "body": "Three tools cover the day-to-day and once-in-a-while host work. System Utilities Installer sets up the CLI tools you actually use after a fresh install. Proxmox System Update is the weekly / monthly hygiene run. Upgrade PVE 8 to PVE 9 is the once-per-major-cycle big move — handled with extra safety gates because it's not reversible.", "options": [ { "title": "System Utilities Installer", "description": "Curated picker for 26 CLI tools (htop, btop, iperf3, jq, tmux, ncdu, ...) with custom selection or predefined groups (basic, dev, compression, multiplexers, analysis, network). Uses the canonical repo + verify-command flow.", "href": "/docs/utils/system-utils" }, { "title": "Proxmox System Update", "description": "Repo hygiene + apt update + apt dist-upgrade with reboot prompt. Detects PVE major version (8 or 9) and routes to the matching worker. Switches to no-subscription, removes conflicting packages, runs autoremove.", "href": "/docs/utils/system-update" }, { "title": "Upgrade PVE 8 to PVE 9", "description": "Major-version upgrade (Debian Bookworm → Trixie + PVE 8 → 9). Pre-flight checks, repository migration, automated or interactive mode, post-upgrade validation and reboot. Refuses to run from the web terminal.", "href": "/docs/utils/upgrade-pve8-pve9" } ] }, "portabilitySection": { "heading": "VM portability (OVA / OVF)", "body": "OVA and OVF are the cross-hypervisor packaging formats from the DMTF standard — supported by VMware, VirtualBox and Proxmox. The two tools are designed to round-trip: a VM exported from Proxmox can be imported back, and vice versa. Use them to migrate workloads off ESXi, take a portable backup of a VM, or share a prepared VM with someone running VirtualBox.", "options": [ { "title": "Export VM to OVA / OVF", "description": "Convert a Proxmox VM into a portable OVA archive or OVF directory. Standard DMTF schema, SHA1 manifest, streamOptimized VMDK disks. Importable on VMware (ESXi / Workstation / Fusion), VirtualBox and back into Proxmox.", "href": "/docs/utils/export-vm" }, { "title": "Import VM from OVA / OVF", "description": "Bring a VMware / VirtualBox / ProxMenux export back into Proxmox. Auto-extracts OVA, parses OVF metadata, creates the VM and imports each disk as the storage-native format.", "href": "/docs/utils/import-vm" } ] }, "diskSpaceCallout": { "title": "A note on disk space for export / import", "body": "Both tools convert disk formats: export uses qemu-img convert -O vmdk -o subformat=streamOptimized; import uses qm importdisk to convert back to the storage-native format (qcow2 / raw). Plan for ~120% of virtual disk size for OVF and ~220% for OVA — the conversion writes the full disk before any compression. Check the destination directory has the headroom before you start." }, "fitsTogether": { "heading": "How the menu fits together", "body": "Each tool has a dedicated script under scripts/utilities/. The Proxmox System Update is a wrapper that delegates to one of two worker scripts in scripts/global/ depending on the detected major version (PVE 8 or PVE 9). The PVE 8 → 9 upgrade exposes two extra menu actions inside its own flow — a stand-alone Pre-upgrade check (runs pve8to9 --full) and a read-only Manual upgrade guide (17-step runbook) — for users who want to inspect or operate by hand instead of the automated path." } }