The Create Container form sets up a new LXC container on one scrolling page: where it runs, which template it is built from, how you log in, its resources, root disk, network and features. If the storage has no template yet, you can fetch one from the appliance catalog without leaving the form. Creating containers is part of Aprox Pro.

Where to find it

  1. In the sidebar, sign in to your Proxmox VE server.
  2. Long-press the server row (right-click on a Mac).
  3. Choose Create Container.

The menu item is available for signed-in Proxmox VE servers, not for Backup Servers and not in the demo. On the free plan it shows "(Pro)" with a lock, and choosing it opens an overview of Aprox Pro.

Create a container

Work through the form from top to bottom, then tap Create.

1. General

Field What to enter
Node The node the container runs on. Shown when the cluster has several nodes.
CT ID (Android: Container ID) Pre-filled with the next free ID.
Hostname For example nginx-02.
Pool Optional resource pool.
Tags Optional, separated by semicolons, for example web;prod.
Unprivileged container On by default, and the safer choice: root inside the container is not root on the node. Turn it off only if the software inside really needs a privileged container.

2. Template

  1. Choose the storage that holds your container templates, for example local.
  2. Tap Choose template… and pick a template, for example a Debian or Ubuntu standard image.
  3. If the storage has no templates yet, tap Browse Appliance Catalog…. The Appliance Templates catalog opens; tap Get next to a template to have the node download it, then pick it once it is on the storage. See Appliance templates.

"A container is built from a template. Fetch one from the catalog if this storage has none."

3. Authentication

  • Root password: the password for root inside the container.
  • SSH public keys: one key per line, added to root's authorized keys.

You need at least one of the two, or nobody can log in to the container.

4. Resources

  • Cores: default 1.
  • Memory in MiB: default 512.
  • Swap in MiB: default 512.

5. Root Disk

  • The storage for the root file system, for example local-lvm.
  • Size in GiB: default 8.

6. Network

  • The bridge, for example vmbr0.
  • IPv4: DHCP (default) or Static. With Static, enter the IPv4 address in CIDR form (for example 192.168.1.10/24) and the Gateway.
  • VLAN tag: optional.
  • Firewall: on by default; lets the guest firewall filter this interface.

IPv6 and further interfaces can be set afterwards in the container's Hardware tab.

7. Features

  • Nesting: needed to run Docker or other containers inside this one, and by many recent Linux distributions.
  • FUSE: allows FUSE file systems inside the container.
  • keyctl: needed by some software, such as Docker in unprivileged containers.

8. Create

  1. Optional: turn on Start after creation.
  2. Tap Create. Aprox shows Creating container….
  3. The new container appears in the sidebar under its node.

After creating

  • Open the container's Console to log in. See Console.
  • Adjust anything else, such as DNS, mount points or more network interfaces, in the Hardware tab. See Container hardware.

Requirements on the server

  • Privileges: typically VM.Allocate (on /vms or the pool you choose) and Datastore.AllocateSpace on the root disk storage, plus access to the bridge and to the template storage.
  • Fetching a template from the catalog additionally needs Datastore.AllocateTemplate on the template storage, and the node needs an appliance index. If it has none, Aprox says "This node has no appliance index. Run pveam update on it first." Run pveam update in the node shell.