Proxmox VE 8 to 9 Upgrade: Official Steps and Checks

Short answer: To upgrade Proxmox VE 8 to 9, first update every node to the latest Proxmox VE 8.4 (pveversion must show at least 8.4.1), make and test backups of all VMs and containers, and run the pve8to9 --full checklist until it is clean. Then switch your Debian repositories from Bookworm to Trixie, add the Proxmox VE 9 repository in the new deb822 format, run apt dist-upgrade and reboot. Hyper-converged Ceph must already be on Ceph 19.2 Squid. The current release is Proxmox VE 9.2 (21 May 2026), and the Proxmox FAQ lists August 2026 as the end of life for Proxmox VE 8.

Official-source review — 8 November 2026 UTC: We checked the Proxmox wiki pages "Upgrade from 8 to 9", "Roadmap" (release notes for 9.0, 9.1 and 9.2) and "FAQ", the Proxmox VE ISO download page, and the official SHA256SUMS file on enterprise.proxmox.com. We did not run this upgrade on our own hardware, and we did not download or boot the ISO. Every command below is copied from the Proxmox wiki unless we say otherwise.

Should I upgrade Proxmox VE 8 to 9 now?

For most homelabs, yes, but on your schedule and after the checks below. The Proxmox FAQ support table lists Proxmox VE 8 (Debian 12 Bookworm) with a Debian end of life of 2026-07 and a Proxmox end of life of 2026-08. Both dates have passed. Proxmox VE 9 is based on Debian 13 Trixie and its end of life is still "tba".

Proxmox released 9.0 on 5 August 2025, 9.1 on 19 November 2025 and 9.2 on 21 May 2026, according to the Proxmox VE Roadmap. The real question is whether your setup hits one of the known issues listed below.

Not sure whether you need a subscription? Read Is Proxmox free? before the repository step.

What is the minimum Proxmox 8 version before upgrading to 9?

The official upgrade guide requires the latest Proxmox VE 8.4 on all nodes. After updating, pveversion should report at least 8.4.1. The other prerequisites from the same page are:

A valid and tested backup of all VMs and containers.
At least 5 GB of free space on the root mount point, ideally more than 10 GB.
Reliable access to the node. Proxmox recommends a channel that does not depend on the host, such as IPMI/IKVM or physical access.
A healthy cluster, if you run one.
Hyper-converged Ceph upgraded to Ceph 19.2 Squid before you start.
A co-installed Proxmox Backup Server needs its own PBS 3 to 4 upgrade.

Proxmox also says that if you use extra packages or third-party repositories, they must be upgraded to and compatible with Debian Trixie. That includes anything you added with community tools; see our notes on Proxmox helper scripts.

The guide also offers a second path: a clean 9.x install from the ISO on new hardware, then restoring VMs from backup.

How do I back up before the upgrade?

Proxmox is direct about this: a valid and tested backup is "always" required, and you should test it in a lab first. For the clean-install path, the guide asks you to back up all VMs and containers to external storage and back up files in /etc. It names /etc/pve, /etc/passwd, /etc/network/interfaces, /etc/resolv.conf and anything that differs from a default install.

We suggest copying those files before an in-place upgrade too, and keeping backups off the host. If your backup target is a NAS, see TrueNAS vs Unraid. Apps with their own database, such as Immich, also deserve an app-level dump; our Immich install guide explains it.

How do I run the pve8to9 checklist?

The pve8to9 tool ships with the latest Proxmox VE 8.4 packages. It only checks and reports; by default it changes nothing. Run it from the node's console or SSH:

pve8to9

To run all checks, which Proxmox says you should do at least once before upgrading:

pve8to9 --full

Re-run it after each fix and after the upgrade. Its advice changes as the upgrade progresses, for example when to remove the systemd-boot meta-package. Proxmox warns it may not catch every problem on heavily customised systems.

Two practical rules from the guide: do not run the upgrade from the web UI's virtual console, because it will be cut off during the upgrade. If you only have SSH, use tmux or screen so a dropped connection does not stop the upgrade.

How do I switch the repositories to Debian 13 Trixie and deb822?

First, make sure the node is on the latest 8.4 packages:

apt update
apt dist-upgrade
pveversion

Then change the Debian and Proxmox entries from Bookworm to Trixie:

sed -i 's/bookworm/trixie/g' /etc/apt/sources.list
sed -i 's/bookworm/trixie/g' /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-enterprise.list

Check that no Bookworm-only repositories remain. Comment them out with # if needed.

Next, add the Proxmox VE 9 repository in the new deb822 style. Without a subscription, the wiki gives this command:

cat > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/proxmox.sources << EOF
Types: deb
URIs: http://download.proxmox.com/debian/pve
Suites: trixie
Components: pve-no-subscription
Signed-By: /usr/share/keyrings/proxmox-archive-keyring.gpg
EOF

With a subscription, use the enterprise repository instead:

cat > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-enterprise.sources << EOF
Types: deb
URIs: https://enterprise.proxmox.com/debian/pve
Suites: trixie
Components: pve-enterprise
Signed-By: /usr/share/keyrings/proxmox-archive-keyring.gpg
EOF

After adding either one, run apt update and then apt policy. There should be no errors, and only the repositories you want should appear. Then remove the old Proxmox VE 8 entry (the old .list file, or the line in /etc/apt/sources.list or pve-install-repo.list) and run both commands again. Proxmox also says to remove any backports line, because the upgrade was not tested with backports packages.

What changes for Ceph and clusters?

For hyper-converged Ceph, ceph --version must show Ceph Squid (19) before you continue. If not, follow the Ceph Reef to Squid guide first. Replace any ceph.com repositories with the Proxmox ones. Without a subscription, the wiki's Trixie command is:

cat > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ceph.sources << EOF
Types: deb
URIs: http://download.proxmox.com/debian/ceph-squid
Suites: trixie
Components: no-subscription
Signed-By: /usr/share/keyrings/proxmox-archive-keyring.gpg
EOF

Then check with apt update and apt policy, and remove the old /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ceph.list.

In a cluster, upgrade one node at a time. Migrate guests that must keep running away from the node first. Proxmox says migrating from an older version to a newer one always works, while newer to older "may work" but is not supported. Once every node runs Proxmox VE 9, existing HA groups are migrated to the new HA rules automatically.

Ceph Squid 19.2.6 added health checks for insecure key types (CVE-2025-30156) that can show HEALTH_ERR while services keep running. If no other warning appears, Proxmox says to continue and run its key migration once all nodes are on 9.

How do I run the upgrade and reboot?

Refresh the package index and confirm there are no errors:

apt update

Then start the upgrade:

apt dist-upgrade

Proxmox says this can take under 5 minutes on fast SSD storage, or 60 minutes or more on a slow spinning disk. You will be asked about changed configuration files. The wiki's advice for the common ones:

/etc/lvm/lvm.conf: if you never edited it, choose "Yes" (the package maintainer's version).
/etc/ssh/sshd_config: if you never edited it, both are safe; Proxmox recommends the maintainer's version.
/etc/default/grub: check the difference carefully; if unsure, keep your version.

When apt dist-upgrade finishes without errors, run pve8to9 again and reboot into the new kernel. Proxmox says to reboot even if you already used the opt-in 6.14 kernel on version 8. Afterwards, force-reload the web UI with Ctrl + Shift + R.

Optionally, convert the rest of your sources to deb822. Answer "n" first to preview the changes:

apt modernize-sources

What known issues should make me wait?

The guide's Known Upgrade Issues section and the 9.0 known issues list the cases below. Wait, or test on similar hardware first, if any of these apply:

Third-party storage plugins. Wait until the plugin author supports Proxmox VE 9.
Veeam backups. At the time of our check, the wiki said Veeam had not adapted to VMs using QEMU machine version 10.0 or higher. Pin affected VMs to 9.2+pve1 or postpone.
PCI passthrough. Some users reported passthrough VMs failing to start on kernel 6.14. The workaround is to boot and pin an older kernel.
NVIDIA vGPU. The upgrade guide asks for at least GRID 18.3 (driver 570.158.02). The 9.1 release notes say driver 19.4 or newer is needed before moving to 9.1.
Old containers. Proxmox VE 9 drops cgroup v1, so containers with systemd 230 or older, such as CentOS 7 or Ubuntu 16.04, are not supported.
Old hardware. Hardware 10 or more years old is less tested.
Settings in /etc/sysctl.conf. This file is no longer read. Move values into /etc/sysctl.d/ before upgrading.
Network names. Some NICs may change name with the new kernel. Proxmox VE 9 includes pve-network-interface-pinning to pin names.
Debian changes. /tmp is now a tmpfs using up to 50% of memory, and files in /tmp and /var/tmp are cleaned regularly. See the Debian 13 upgrade issues.

If you installed Proxmox on top of plain Debian and the upgrade wants to remove proxmox-ve, the wiki says to remove the conflicting kernel package first:

apt remove linux-image-amd64

On UEFI systems with root on LVM, install the fixed grub package before rebooting:

[ -d /sys/firmware/efi ] && apt install grub-efi-amd64

If an LVM thin pool reports "Manual repair required!", the wiki's fix is lvconvert --repair pve/data. If Home Assistant OS runs in a VM, check it starts after the reboot (see Home Assistant install methods).

Where do I get the official Proxmox VE 9 ISO and verify it?

You only need the ISO for a clean install, a test machine or the rescue boot. The official source is the Proxmox VE ISO downloads page. On 8 November 2026 it listed the Proxmox VE 9.2 ISO Installer, version 9.2-1, 1.71 GB, last updated 21 May 2026, with this SHA-256:

4e88fe416df9b527624a175f24c9aa07c714d3332afb1ee3dbf3879573ef2c6c

The same value appears for proxmox-ve_9.2-1.iso in Proxmox's SHA256SUMS file. To check your download, these are standard commands, not Proxmox instructions. On Linux:

sha256sum proxmox-ve_9.2-1.iso

On Windows PowerShell:

Get-FileHash .\proxmox-ve_9.2-1.iso -Algorithm SHA256

Or drop the file into our SHA-256 checker. The result must match exactly. Then write it to USB with one of the tools in Ventoy vs Rufus vs balenaEtcher, and follow our Proxmox VE download and install guide. Official links for every Proxmox file are also on our Proxmox VE page.

One installer warning from the 9.2 release notes: kernel 7.0.2-6 on the 9.2 ISO has problems with RAID controllers using the megaraid_sas driver and some NVMe drives in JBOD mode. On affected systems, Proxmox recommends installing from the 9.1 ISO and upgrading to 9.2 afterwards. The ISO page also reminds you to update any new install to the latest packages.

Questions

Can I upgrade from Proxmox 8.2 or 8.3 straight to 9?

No. First update to the latest 8.4 packages on Bookworm repositories. The wiki says pveversion should show at least 8.4.1.

Does pve8to9 fix problems for me?

No. By default it only checks and reports. You fix each issue and run it again.

Do I need a subscription to upgrade?

No. The wiki gives a no-subscription repository command for Proxmox VE 9 and for Ceph Squid.

How long does the upgrade take?

The wiki says under 5 minutes on fast SSD storage, and 60 minutes or more on a slow spinning disk.

Can I roll back to Proxmox VE 8?

The upgrade guide gives no rollback steps. Plan on restoring from backup, or reinstalling 8.4 from its ISO and restoring guests.

Is Proxmox VE 8 still supported?

The Proxmox FAQ lists its end of life as 2026-08, so it has passed its end of life. Proxmox recommends always using the latest stable version.

Proxmox VE 8 to 9 Upgrade: The Official Steps, Checks and Known Issues