Proxmox
Where Proxmox Stores ISOs and Virtual Machines
When working with Proxmox VE, it helps to know where your ISO images and virtual machines (VMs) are stored on the host. These locations depend on your storage configuration, but here are the defaults.
📂 ISO Images​
Uploaded ISO images are saved under:
/var/lib/vz/template/iso/
This is where the ISOs you upload via the Proxmox web interface end up. You can copy ISO files here manually as well if needed.
📂 Virtual Machines​
A Proxmox VM consists of two parts:
- Configuration files
- Disk images
1. VM Configurations​
VM configuration files are stored in:
/etc/pve/qemu-server/<VMID>.conf
Example: VM with ID 101 will have its config in:
/etc/pve/qemu-server/101.conf
2. VM Disks​
The actual disk images depend on your storage backend:
- Local storage (default):
/var/lib/vz/images/<VMID>/
- Other storage types (ZFS, LVM, Ceph, NFS, etc.):
Disk files are stored in the path you configured in:
/etc/pve/storage.cfg
✅ Quick Summary​
- ISOs:
/var/lib/vz/template/iso/ - VM configs:
/etc/pve/qemu-server/ - VM disks (local):
/var/lib/vz/images/<VMID>/ - VM disks (other backends): As defined in
/etc/pve/storage.cfg
Knowing these locations makes it easier to back up, migrate, or troubleshoot your Proxmox environment.