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title: Installing Proxmox VE 7 on Debian Bullseye | daily.dev
description: A step-by-step guide for installing Proxmox VE 7 on top of Debian 11 (Bullseye), motivated by the Proxmox installer's inability to partition eMMC storage on a...
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og:description: A step-by-step guide for installing Proxmox VE 7 on top of Debian 11 (Bullseye), motivated by the Proxmox installer's inability to partition eMMC storage on a...
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# Installing Proxmox VE 7 on Debian Bullseye

**[apalrd's adventures](https://daily.dev/sources/apalrd)** · 4 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments

## Summary

A step-by-step guide for installing Proxmox VE 7 on top of Debian 11 (Bullseye), motivated by the Proxmox installer's inability to partition eMMC storage on a Dell Wyse 3040 thin client. Covers static IP configuration, editing /etc/hosts for hostname resolution, adding the Proxmox APT repository with the correct GPG key (noting the key naming change from v6 to v7), and running the full package installation. Also useful for anyone wanting a custom root filesystem layout like ext4 without LVM, which the native Proxmox installer does not support.

## Full article

daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: <https://www.apalrd.net/posts/2022/pve_bullseye>

## Questions this post answers

### How do I install Proxmox VE 7 on Debian 11 Bullseye instead of using the Proxmox ISO installer?

Install Debian 11 Bullseye (netinst, no desktop, SSH server enabled), configure a static IP in /etc/network/interfaces, update /etc/hosts to map your hostname to the static IP instead of 127.0.1.1, add the PVE 7 apt repository, download the Proxmox GPG key, run apt update && apt full-upgrade, then install proxmox-ve. Choose 'Local Only' for Postfix and remove os-prober when prompted.

_Homelab builders switching from the ISO path to Debian-based installs share notes like these on daily.dev._

### Why does the Proxmox VE 7 GPG key filename differ from the version 6 key?

The Proxmox VE 7 signing key has a different filename than the v6 key because the same key now signs both Proxmox VE and Proxmox Backup Server releases. You cannot simply replace '6.x' with '7.x' in the key filename as the official Buster guide implies — the key must be downloaded separately using the updated filename for the v7 repository.

_Proxmox upgraders running into repo authentication errors find the right fix faster on daily.dev._

### Can I install Proxmox VE without LVM or ZFS, using ext4 on the root partition?

Yes. Installing Proxmox on top of Debian lets you use any filesystem layout, including plain ext4 with no LVM. The native Proxmox ISO installer requires LVM or ZFS, so the Debian-first approach is the standard workaround when you need a custom partition scheme or are working with small or unusual storage like eMMC.

_Developers running Proxmox on constrained hardware track workarounds like this on daily.dev._

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- [The real reason you should move to Proxmox isn't virtualization](https://daily.dev/posts/the-real-reason-you-should-move-to-proxmox-isn-t-virtualization-rbdh8srf5) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments
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---

Tags: [#linux](https://daily.dev/tags/linux), [#infrastructure](https://daily.dev/tags/infrastructure), [#self-hosting](https://daily.dev/tags/self-hosting), [#proxmox](https://daily.dev/tags/proxmox)

[View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/installing-proxmox-ve-7-on-debian-bullseye-qqxykvw4p)

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