PowerCLI for Proxmox VE: the command equivalents
If you automated vSphere with PowerCLI, this module is the same idea for Proxmox VE: a PowerShell module that talks to the management API, with objects in the pipeline. This page maps the PowerCLI cmdlets you use most to their equivalent here, and lists the differences that trip people up in the first scripts.
The PowerCLI cmdlet names come from the official
PowerCLI reference (modules
VMware.VimAutomation.Core and VMware.VimAutomation.Common).
What changes on Proxmox VE
Section titled “What changes on Proxmox VE”| vSphere | Proxmox VE | In the module |
|---|---|---|
| vCenter Server | No separate management server: every node serves the API for the whole cluster | Connect to any node; list several and the first that answers is used: see Connection |
| ESXi host | Node | Get-PveNode |
| Virtual machine | VM (QEMU/KVM) or LXC container, with different endpoints | Get-PveGuest returns both, with type qemu or lxc |
| VMware Tools | QEMU guest agent (VMs only) | …QemuAgent… cmdlets: see Guest agent |
| Datastore | Storage, defined for the whole cluster, shared or local to a node | Get-PveClusterResources -Type storage |
| Resource pool | Pool: a group of guests and storages used for permissions, without CPU or memory limits | Get-PvePools |
| Tags | Tags on the guest, separated by ; |
the tags property of Get-PveGuest |
$global:DefaultVIServer |
The last connection | $PveTicketLast: see Connection |
Cmdlet by cmdlet
Section titled “Cmdlet by cmdlet”Connect and find
Section titled “Connect and find”| PowerCLI | cv4pve-api-powershell |
|---|---|
Connect-VIServer |
Connect-PveCluster |
Get-VM |
Get-PveGuest: by id, name, range, node, pool or tag, with exclusions, see Finding VMs |
Get-VMHost |
Get-PveNode |
Get-Datastore |
Get-PveClusterResources -Type storage |
Get-ResourcePool |
Get-PvePools |
Get-TagAssignment |
Get-PveGuest -VmIdOrName '@tag-web', or the tags property |
Get-VMGuest |
Get-PveNodesQemuAgentGetOsinfo, Get-PveNodesQemuAgentNetworkGetInterfaces |
| PowerCLI | cv4pve-api-powershell |
|---|---|
Start-VM |
Start-PveGuest |
Stop-VM |
Stop-PveGuest: immediate stop, as Stop-VM |
Stop-VMGuest |
Stop-PveGuest -Shutdown: clean shutdown through the guest |
Restart-VM |
Reset-PveGuest: reset of the VM |
Restart-VMGuest |
Restart-PveGuest: reboot through the guest |
Suspend-VM |
Suspend-PveGuest; Resume-PveGuest to resume |
See Power and lock.
Snapshots
Section titled “Snapshots”| PowerCLI | cv4pve-api-powershell |
|---|---|
Get-Snapshot |
Get-PveGuestSnapshot |
New-Snapshot -Memory |
New-PveGuestSnapshot -Vmstate |
Set-VM -Snapshot |
Undo-PveGuestSnapshot |
Remove-Snapshot |
Remove-PveGuestSnapshot |
See Snapshots.
Move, create, run
Section titled “Move, create, run”| PowerCLI | cv4pve-api-powershell |
|---|---|
Move-VM to another host (vMotion) |
New-PveNodesQemuMigrate -Target pve02 -Online $true; containers New-PveNodesLxcMigrate -Target pve02 -Restart $true |
Move-VM to another datastore (Storage vMotion) |
New-PveNodesQemuMoveDisk -Disk scsi0 -Storage <storage>; containers New-PveNodesLxcMoveVolume |
Move-HardDisk |
New-PveNodesQemuMoveDisk |
Move-VM with host and datastore |
New-PveNodesQemuMigrate -Target pve02 -WithLocalDisks $true -Targetstorage <storage> |
New-VM |
New-PveNodesQemu, New-PveNodesLxc: see Create a VM |
New-VM -Template |
New-PveNodesQemuClone |
Invoke-VMScript |
New-PveNodesQemuAgentExec: see Guest agent |
Get-Task, Wait-Task |
Get-PveNodesTasks, Wait-PveTaskIsFinish: see Tasks |
Get-Stat |
Get-PveNodesQemuRrddata -Timeframe hour (alias Get-PveQemuMonitoring), Get-PveNodesLxcRrddata |
Get-View |
Invoke-PveRestApi: any path of the API, see Raw API |
New-PveNodesQemuMoveDisk without -Delete $true keeps the original disk on the VM as an unused disk.
Every other endpoint of the API has its cmdlet: search it in the cmdlet reference, grouped like the API.
What works differently
Section titled “What works differently”Results are wrapped
Section titled “Results are wrapped”PowerCLI returns the objects. Here the functions written for convenience (Get-PveGuest, Get-PveNode)
do too, but the generated cmdlets return a PveResponse, with the data in .Response.data:
$vm = Get-PveGuest -VmIdOrName web01 # the guest itself(Get-PveNodesQemuConfig -Node $vm.node -Vmid $vm.vmid).Response.data.memory # memory in MiBSee Results.
Errors do not throw
Section titled “Errors do not throw”A PowerCLI cmdlet that fails writes an error that -ErrorAction Stop turns into an exception. A
generated cmdlet here returns a PveResponse with IsSuccessStatusCode $false and the reason in
ReasonPhrase: check it, or wrap the calls. See Errors.
Where the VM runs matters
Section titled “Where the VM runs matters”PowerCLI finds a VM by name anywhere in vCenter. The generated cmdlets follow the API paths, which
include the node: -Node pve01 -Vmid 100. Pipe Get-PveGuest
into them, and it fills -Node and -Vmid for you:
Get-PveGuest -VmIdOrName web01 | Get-PveNodesQemuConfigBooleans take a value
Section titled “Booleans take a value”Where PowerCLI has switches, the generated cmdlets have [bool] parameters, because the API can set
them to false: -Online $true, -Onboot $false. See
Parameters.
-WhatIf and -Confirm
Section titled “-WhatIf and -Confirm”The cmdlets that change something take the standard PowerShell parameters -WhatIf and -Confirm:
Remove-PveNodesQemu … -WhatIf, Stop-PveGuest -VmIdOrName '@tag-lab' -WhatIf. They never ask by
themselves: see -WhatIf and -Confirm.
VMs and containers are separate
Section titled “VMs and containers are separate”vSphere has one kind of guest. Proxmox VE has VMs (qemu) and containers (lxc), each with its own
endpoints: Get-PveNodesQemuConfig or Get-PveNodesLxcConfig. The functions written for convenience
(Start-PveGuest, the snapshot functions) choose for you; with the generated cmdlets, filter on type
first.
