Proxmox Backup Server: installation via community-scripts and backup configuration [2026]

If you run Proxmox VE at home or in a homelab, one of the first things you need to sort out is backup. Proxmox Backup Server (PBS) is the official integrated solution — incremental backup, deduplication, Zstandard compression, and integrity verification, all native.

The fastest way to get PBS up and running is by using the community-scripts (formerly Proxmox VE Helper-Scripts), which install PBS in an LXC container in a few minutes. This guide covers everything: installation, datastore configuration, integration with PVE, and backup automation.

What is Proxmox Backup Server

PBS is a specialized backup server for Proxmox environments. Unlike generic solutions (rsync, Bacula, Veeam), it understands the QEMU disk format and Proxmox VE snapshots, which enables:

Incremental backups — only changed blocks are transferred
Deduplication — identical data (even across different VMs) takes up space only once
Zstandard compression — fast and efficient
Integrity verification — detects bit rot and silent corruption
Granular restore — individual file, entire VM, or container

Installation via Community-Scripts

The community-scripts (official site) are community-maintained scripts that automate the creation of containers and VMs for common services on Proxmox.

On the Proxmox node shell (via SSH or console), run:

bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/community-scripts/ProxmoxVE/main/ct/proxmox-backup-server.sh)"

The script will ask the following questions:

Setting	Suggestion
Container ID	102 (or next available)
Hostname	`pbs`
Root disk size	8 GB
Datastore size	100 GB+ (adjust as needed)
RAM	4096 MB
CPU cores	2
Bridge	vmbr0
Static IP	Choose a fixed IP on your network
Gateway	IP of your router
DNS	8.8.8.8 (or your preferred DNS)

At the end, the script displays the generated password for the PBS root user — write it down.

Initial PBS Configuration

1. Access the web interface

Open your browser at: https://<PBS_IP>:8007

User: root
Password: the one provided by the script

If the browser complains about the self-signed certificate, that is normal — it is a certificate generated during installation. You can replace it later with a Let’s Encrypt one.

2. Create the datastore

In the PBS dashboard, go to Datastore → Add Datastore:

Name: backups (or any name you prefer)
Path: /mnt/datastore/backups (the script already creates the mount point)
Compression: Zstandard (zstd) — best speed/compression ratio
Keep backups: define retention policy (e.g., keep backups from the last 14 days)

3. Verify the datastore disk

The community-scripts script already creates and formats an extra disk for the datastore. To verify:

df -h /mnt/datastore/backups
lsblk

If you need to manually add a disk later:

mkfs.ext4 /dev/vdb
mount /dev/vdb /mnt/datastore/backups
echo '/dev/vdb /mnt/datastore/backups ext4 defaults 0 0' >> /etc/fstab

PVE → PBS Integration

1. Obtain the PBS fingerprint

On the PBS container shell:

proxmox-backup-manager cert info | grep Fingerprint

Copy the fingerprint (a long string like SHA256:...).

2. Add PBS as storage in PVE

In Proxmox VE, go to Datacenter → Storage → Add → Proxmox Backup Server and fill in:

ID: pbs-backup
Server: PBS IP
Datastore: backups (exactly the name you created)
Username: root@pam
Password: PBS root password
Fingerprint: paste the fingerprint copied above (optional: check “Do not verify” the first time)

3. Test the connection

After adding, click on the pbs-backup storage and then on Content. The list should appear empty (no errors) — meaning the connection is working.

Automating Backups

1. Create a backup job

In PVE, go to Datacenter → Backup → Add:

ID: backup-weekly
Node: select the node(s)
Storage: pbs-backup
Schedule: 0 2 * * 0 (Sundays at 02:00) or your preferred time
Selection Mode: Include selected VMs and check the VMs/CTs
Mode: Snapshot (recommended — no downtime)
Compression: Zstandard (inherited from PBS)
Rate limit: optional (e.g., 100 MB/s to avoid saturating the network)

2. Retention policy

Define how many backups to keep:

Keep-Last: 7 (last 7 backups)
Keep-Hourly: 24
Keep-Daily: 7
Keep-Weekly: 4
Keep-Monthly: 3

PBS applies the most restrictive policy — for example, if you schedule a daily backup with Keep-Last=7, only the 7 most recent ones are kept.

Verification and Restore

Automatic integrity verification

The big advantage of PBS is the verification against bit rot. To enable it:

In PBS, go to Administration → Verification Jobs → Add:

Schedule: 0 1 * * * (every day at 01:00)
Datastore: backups
Action: verify

This reads each backup from disk and checks the checksum — if it finds corruption, it alerts immediately.

Manual verification via CLI

proxmox-backup-client verify --crypt-mode none backup/ct/<backup-id>

Restoring a backup

In PVE, go to Datacenter → pbs-backup → Content, click on the desired backup and choose Restore. You can restore:

To the same VM/CT (replaces the disk)
To a new VM/CT (clones the backup)

Via CLI:

pvesm extractconfig pbs-backup:backup/<backup-id> --vmtype qemu

Tips and Best Practices

Dedicated datastore: use a separate disk or partition for the datastore — never the same disk as the PBS system
Isolated network: if possible, keep backup traffic on a VLAN or separate network
Namespace: use different namespaces in PBS to organize backups from different environments (dev, prod, homelab)
Notifications: configure PBS to send email on verification or backup failure (Administration → Notification)
PBS cluster: it is possible to set up a PBS cluster with multiple nodes, but for a homelab a single node is sufficient
Updates: keep both PVE and PBS up to date — incompatible versions of proxmox-backup-client can cause connection errors

Quick FAQ

Question	Answer
Do I need a Proxmox subscription?	No. PBS works without a subscription, only using the free repository.
How many GB of datastore?	General rule: 2-3x the total size of VMs for daily backups with 7-day retention.
Does PBS work with LXC containers?	Yes. The community-scripts script installs it in a privileged Ubuntu LXC.
Can I back up non-Proxmox machines?	Not directly. PBS is built for the Proxmox ecosystem. For other systems, use `proxmox-backup-client` on the client.
Does the snapshot backup affect the VM?	No. Snapshot mode uses the QEMU/KVM snapshot feature — the VM keeps running.