How to Install Proxmox VE on a Mini PC (Step-by-Step, 2026)

Proxmox VE is a free, open-source hypervisor that turns a regular PC into a server capable of running virtual machines and Linux containers side by side. It’s what I run at the base of my homelab, and it’s the platform most of the guides on this site assume you’re using.

This guide covers installing Proxmox VE 8 on a mini PC — specifically the Intel N100-based machines that have become the default recommendation for budget homelabs. The process is nearly identical for any x86 hardware.

What you need

A mini PC with an Intel N100 (or similar) — Beelink S12 Pro, GMKtec G3, and similar all work fine
A USB drive (8GB+) to create the installer
Another computer to create the USB installer
A monitor and keyboard for the initial install (you won’t need them after)
An ethernet cable — Proxmox installs better with a wired connection

Step 1: Download Proxmox VE

Go to proxmox.com/downloads and grab the latest Proxmox VE ISO (currently 8.x). It’s a free download — no account required.

Step 2: Flash the USB drive

Use Balena Etcher (Windows/Mac/Linux) or Rufus (Windows) to write the ISO to your USB drive.

On Linux, you can use dd directly:

sudo dd if=proxmox-ve_8.x-1.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress
sync

Replace /dev/sdX with your actual USB device. Double-check with lsblk before running — this overwrites the target device completely.

Step 3: Boot from USB

Plug the USB drive into your mini PC. Power it on and immediately spam F7, F11, F12, or Delete to get the boot menu (it varies by brand — consult your manual if none of those work). Select the USB drive.

The Proxmox installer will load.

Step 4: Work through the installer

The graphical installer is straightforward:

Accept the license — EULA, click I agree
Select target disk — Proxmox will show your available disks. For a mini PC with one SSD, select it. If you have multiple disks, pick the one you want Proxmox installed on. The filesystem options appear here — ext4 is fine for a single-disk setup, zfs if you want checksumming and snapshots (more on this in the storage guide)
Country and timezone — set your location
Admin password — set a strong password for the root account, and an email address for system alerts
Network configuration — this is important. Make sure your ethernet is plugged in. The installer should detect your interface and propose a static IP. Set this to something in your local range that won’t conflict, like 192.168.1.10 or 192.168.1.10. Set the gateway to your router’s IP. DNS can be 1.1.1.1 for now.

Review the summary screen and click Install. The process takes a few minutes.

Step 5: Remove the USB and reboot

When the installer finishes, it will prompt you to remove the USB drive and reboot. Do that. The system will come back up and show you a console screen with the Proxmox web UI address — something like https://192.168.1.10:8006.

Step 6: Access the web UI

From another computer on the same network, open a browser and navigate to that address. You’ll get a certificate warning (expected — this is a self-signed cert until you set up a proper one). Proceed anyway.

Username: root
Realm: Linux PAM standard authentication
Password: whatever you set during installation

You’re in.

Step 7: Immediate post-install configuration

Two things to handle before anything else.

Switch the package repositories

By default, Proxmox points to its enterprise repository, which requires a paid subscription. This doesn’t break anything — it just means package updates will fail with a permission error. Fix it by switching to the no-subscription repository, which is free and perfectly suitable for home use.

In the Proxmox web UI:

Go to your node (left panel) → Shell
Run these commands:

# Disable the enterprise repository
echo "# deb https://enterprise.proxmox.com/debian/pve bookworm pve-enterprise" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-enterprise.list

# Add the no-subscription repository
echo "deb http://download.proxmox.com/debian/pve bookworm pve-no-subscription" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-no-subscription.list

# Update the package list
apt update

Run system updates

apt dist-upgrade -y

Reboot after updates complete:

reboot

What’s running now

After this install, you have a Proxmox node that can:

Create and manage virtual machines (full Linux or Windows installs)
Create LXC containers (lightweight, faster than VMs, great for running Docker)
Take snapshots of running systems
Schedule backups

The next step is the Proxmox post-install checklist, which covers a few more configuration changes that prevent common problems — including removing the subscription nag dialog that appears on every login.

After that, the Docker guide covers setting up containerized services, which is where most of the interesting homelab software lives.