Unattended deployments

A container script opens its install menu unless mode is set. Everything else that can ask a question has a variable or a file that answers it. This page covers container scripts on a Proxmox VE host; the behaviour described is in ui/menu.func, ui/defaults.func, core/core.func and pve/backend.func.

One containerCopy Anchor Link

mode=generated var_unattended=yes \
var_os=debian var_ram=1024 var_disk=4 \
var_hostname=adguard var_net=192.168.1.53/24 var_gateway=192.168.1.1 \
var_container_storage=local-lvm var_template_storage=local \
  bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/community-scripts/ProxmoxVE/main/ct/adguard.sh)"

What each part does:

The generator builds this kind of command from a form, also with mode=generated.

Which mode to useCopy Anchor Link

mode=advanced always opens the wizard. Without mode the menu opens, and a run that only sets var_* waits there.

The files and their precedence are explained in Defaults and install modes.

What still prompts, and the answerCopy Anchor Link

A container ID that is already taken does not prompt: the next free ID is used and a warning names it.

DiagnosticsCopy Anchor Link

diagnostics_check asks once and stores the answer. To decide beforehand, write the file the dialog would write:

mkdir -p /usr/local/community-scripts
echo "DIAGNOSTICS=no" >/usr/local/community-scripts/diagnostics

Use DIAGNOSTICS=yes to send them. What is sent is described under Telemetry.

var_unattendedCopy Anchor Link

is_unattended decides whether helpers such as prompt_confirm ask or apply their default. It returns true for mode=default and mode=appdefaults, when PHS_SILENT=1, when var_unattended is yes, true or 1, or when stdin is not a terminal. mode=generated is not in that list, and mode=mydefaults stops counting once the container is being built, so add var_unattended=yes to both. Put it on the command line, as in the examples, so that it is in the environment the installer inside the container inherits.

It does not answer whiptail dialogs (storage, diagnostics) or a script's plain read; those have their own rows in the table.

The app's own questionsCopy Anchor Link

Some installers ask about options of the app. They read a variable first and ask only if it is empty. ct/docker.sh exports three of them:

mode=generated var_unattended=yes var_os=debian \
var_docker_socket=n var_docker_compose=y \
var_container_storage=local-lvm var_template_storage=local \
  bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/community-scripts/ProxmoxVE/main/ct/docker.sh)"

The variables a script has are listed on its page and in the generator. A script whose installer asks without such a variable cannot run unattended; report it as a bug.

An installer that hands over to an upstream script needs consent:

mode=generated var_unattended=yes var_external_installer=yes \
var_container_storage=local-lvm var_template_storage=local \
  bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/community-scripts/ProxmoxVE/main/ct/casaos.sh)"

A batchCopy Anchor Link

for app in adguard valkey debian; do
  mode=generated var_unattended=yes var_os=debian \
  var_container_storage=local-lvm var_template_storage=local \
    bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/community-scripts/ProxmoxVE/main/ct/${app}.sh)" ||
    echo "${app} failed with exit code $?"
done

Each run takes the next free container ID and the app's name as hostname, so the loop needs no per-app values. Do not set var_ctid, var_hostname, var_mac or a single static var_net for the whole loop. To hand out static addresses, give var_net a range; each run takes the first address in it that does not answer a ping:

for app in adguard valkey debian; do
  mode=generated var_unattended=yes var_os=debian \
  var_net=192.168.1.100/24-192.168.1.120/24 var_gateway=192.168.1.1 \
  var_container_storage=local-lvm var_template_storage=local \
    bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/community-scripts/ProxmoxVE/main/ct/${app}.sh)" ||
    echo "${app} failed with exit code $?"
done

The same with filesCopy Anchor Link

Put what every container shares into default.vars once:

mkdir -p /usr/local/community-scripts
cat <<'EOF' >>/usr/local/community-scripts/default.vars
var_container_storage=local-lvm
var_template_storage=local
var_ssh=yes
var_timezone=Europe/Berlin
EOF

Then each run needs only the mode:

mode=mydefaults var_unattended=yes var_os=debian \
  bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/community-scripts/ProxmoxVE/main/ct/valkey.sh)"

A var_* on that command line still wins over the file.

SecretsCopy Anchor Link

var_pw, var_github_token and an app's passwords on the command line end up in the shell history. Keep them in a root-only file and export them for the run:

set -a
. /root/.deploy.env   # contains lines such as var_pw=...
set +a
mode=generated var_unattended=yes \
var_container_storage=local-lvm var_template_storage=local \
  bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/community-scripts/ProxmoxVE/main/ct/debian.sh)"

default.vars and app files are plain text as well; see the file modes in Defaults and install modes.

Virtual machinesCopy Anchor Link

VM scripts load none of the above. With VM_UNATTENDED=1 they take the script's defaults, overridden by VM_* variables from the environment; the generator emits those for a VM script. See Virtual machines.

Check before you automateCopy Anchor Link

Run the command once by hand on a disposable host. A prompt that appears there will also appear in the batch. If a run fails, start from the exit code it prints: Exit codes and Troubleshooting.