Where Does Proxmox VE Store VM Configs?
Proxmox keeps all cluster config in /etc/pve, a database backed filesystem synced across every node in real time.
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The /etc/pve directory looks like files but behaves like a database. Every VM definition, container config, storage entry, firewall rule, and user account lives here, replicated to all nodes over corosync the moment it changes.
Guest configs sort by node and type: qemu-server holds KVM machines numbered by VMID, lxc holds containers, storage.cfg defines every storage. The actual disk images live wherever those storages point, commonly /var/lib/vz for local installs. Config without disks boots nothing, so back up both layers.
Where Proxmox VE stores this, by platform
/etc/pve
Guest configs at nodes/<node>/qemu-server/<vmid>.conf, storage at storage.cfg. The backing database is /var/lib/pve-cluster/config.db. Never store large files here: the FS caps at 128 MiB.
Frequently asked questions
A node died. How do I recover its guests?
Move its .conf file from the dead node's directory to a live one, for example nodes/node1/qemu-server/100.conf to nodes/node2. That reassigns ownership when disks sit on shared storage. HA guests recover on their own.
How do I back up the cluster config itself?
Copy /var/lib/pve-cluster/config.db off the host regularly. Restoring means stopping pve-cluster on a fresh host, replacing that file, fixing hostname and hosts, then rebooting. VM disks need their own backups separately.
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