qm-start

Start a specific virtual machine

$ qm start [100]

$ qm start [100] --machine [q35]

$ qm start [100] --timeout [60]

qm start [OPTIONS]

VMID
    The unique numerical identifier of the virtual machine to start.

--skiplock
    Skip locking the VM to avoid blocking other operations, use with caution.

--hastate-id
    The HA state-id to use. Defaults to the VMID if not specified.

--node
    The node where the VM should be started. Defaults to the local node.

--no-start
    Do not actually start the VM, only update the status in the configuration. Useful for migrating VMs.

--force-recovery
    Force recovery mode, even if the VM is not marked as failed.

The `qm-start` command is used to initiate the execution of a QEMU virtual machine (VM) within a Proxmox VE environment. It boots up the VM according to its configured settings, making it accessible via the Proxmox VE web interface or other remote access methods. It effectively transitions the VM from a stopped state to a running state, allocating resources and launching the necessary QEMU processes to emulate the virtual hardware. It is a crucial tool for managing the lifecycle of VMs within a Proxmox environment. The tool internally leverages QEMU to perform the virtualization itself, relying on the configuration defined for the VM within the Proxmox VE system. The tool is often part of the standard Proxmox VE installation and management stack, tightly integrated with other management commands for containers and virtual machines. Proper use of `qm-start` assumes that the VM has been correctly configured using other Proxmox commands (e.g., `qm create`, `qm set`).

If the VM fails to start (e.g., due to resource constraints, configuration errors), `qm-start` will typically return an error code. Check the Proxmox VE logs for more detailed information about the cause of the failure. Common issues include insufficient memory, network configuration problems, or corrupted disk images.

In a Proxmox VE cluster with HA enabled, `qm-start` interacts with the HA subsystem. If a VM configured for HA fails on one node, the HA system will automatically attempt to restart it on another available node in the cluster. The `--hastate-id` and other HA related options influence this behavior.

The `--no-start` option is useful for migrating VMs. First, the VM's configuration is updated on the destination node, and then the data is copied. Finally, `--no-start` ensures that the VM is not immediately started on the destination node. This allows for a controlled switchover.

qm(1), qm stop(1), qm shutdown(1), qm create(1)