From: Yahya Jabary <y.jabary@proxmox.com>
To: pve-devel@lists.proxmox.com
Subject: [pve-devel] [PATCH docs 1/1] docs: explain vm templates
Date: Wed, 21 Jan 2026 13:35:39 +0100 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <20260121123539.1161885-1-y.jabary@proxmox.com> (raw)
Resolves: https://bugzilla.proxmox.com/show_bug.cgi?id=4717
qm: explain vm template
Signed-off-by: Yahya Jabary <y.jabary@proxmox.com>
---
qm.adoc | 46 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-----
1 file changed, 41 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)
diff --git a/qm.adoc b/qm.adoc
index 667fd56..1b7eb22 100644
--- a/qm.adoc
+++ b/qm.adoc
@@ -1784,12 +1784,48 @@ setting.
Virtual Machine Templates
-------------------------
-One can convert a VM into a Template. Such templates are read-only,
-and you can use them to create linked clones.
+Templates are pre-configured VM images converted to read-only state, used as a
+base for creating clones.
+
+*Benefits:*
+
+* Fast deployment compared to manual configuration
+* Consistent baseline configuration across VMs
+* Storage savings with linked clones (shared base image)
+
+*Limitations:*
+
+* Read-only: updates require creating a new VM, updating it, and converting to
+ a new template
+* Linked clones depend on template availability (deletion breaks all linked
+ clones)
+* Linked clones require snapshot-capable storage: file-based (raw, qcow2,
+ vmdk), LVM-thin, ZFS, or Ceph RBD
+* Standard LVM/iSCSI without thin provisioning not supported
+
+Creating a Template
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+1. Install OS, software, drivers (e.g., VirtIO), and updates
+2. Remove temporary files, logs, and sensitive data
+3. *Linux*: Remove SSH host keys, network MAC configs, and clear
+ `/etc/machine-id`
+4. *Windows*: Run `sysprep` to generalize
+5. Right-click VM > *Convert to template*
+
+TIP: Use <<qm_cloud_init, Cloud-Init>> for automated customization during
+deployment.
+
+Deploying from Template
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Right-click template > *Clone*:
+
+* *Full Clone*: Independent copy, decoupled from template
+* *Linked Clone*: Shares template's read-only disks, near-instant deployment
+
+See <<qm_copy_and_clone, Copies and Clones>> for details.
-NOTE: It is not possible to start templates, because this would modify
-the disk images. If you want to change the template, create a linked
-clone and modify that.
VM Generation ID
----------------
--
2.47.3
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