qm-guest-passwd
Change or reset a guest VM password
TLDR
Set a password for a specific user in a virtual machine interactively
Set an already hashed password for a specific user in a virtual machine interactively
SYNOPSIS
qm guest cmd
PARAMETERS
vmid
The ID of the virtual machine.
username
The username of the user whose password you want to change.
password
The new password for the user.
--setuser
Use specified user for authentication. Defaults to 'root'.
--iterations
Number of iterations for password hashing. Defaults to 4096.
--method
Password hashing method to use (crypt, sha256, sha512). Defaults to sha512.
--password
Password for user used for authentication
DESCRIPTION
The `qm-guest-passwd` command allows you to change the password of a user within a virtual machine guest OS running under Proxmox Virtual Environment (PVE). It interacts with the QEMU Guest Agent running inside the VM to perform the password change. This method avoids direct access to the VM's disk image or console, providing a more secure way to manage user credentials. The command requires the QEMU Guest Agent to be installed and running inside the VM, and the agent service enabled in the PVE VM configuration.
Password changes will only work with users that exist inside the VM OS.
Using this command simplifies password management, especially when dealing with multiple VMs. It leverages the guest agent for authentication and password modification inside the guest OS, removing the need to log in and execute commands manually.
CAVEATS
- Requires the QEMU Guest Agent to be installed and running inside the VM.
- The agent service must be enabled in the PVE VM configuration.
- Password complexity requirements are dictated by the guest OS.
- The command needs privileges to execute password changes, typically root or an equivalent account inside the VM.
EXAMPLE
To change the password of user 'testuser' on VM 100 to 'newpassword', run: qm guest cmd 100 passwd testuser newpassword
SEE ALSO
qm(1), qemu-guest-agent(8)