Idle Proxmox Auto-Shutdown

1. Create the Script

Open the shell of your Proxmox server (via SSH or web UI) and create the script file:

nano /root/shutdown.sh

Paste the following content into the file:

#!/bin/bash
# Check all VMs for running status
VM_RUNNING=$(qm list | grep -c 'running')
# Check all containers for running status
CT_RUNNING=$(pct list | awk '$3 == "running" {print $1}' | wc -l)
# If neither VMs nor containers are running, power off
if [[ "$VM_RUNNING" -eq 0 && "$CT_RUNNING" -eq 0 ]]; then
    poweroff
fi

Save and exit (in nano, press CTRL+O then Enter, then CTRL+X).

Make the script executable:

chmod +x /root/shutdown.sh

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2. Add Cron Job

Edit the root user's crontab:

crontab -e

Add the following line at the end of the file to execute the script every 3 hours:

0 */3 * * * /root/shutdown.sh

Save and exit the editor.

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3. Verify & Test

• Your script will now be checked every 3 hours.

• If there are no running VMs or containers, the server will power off safely.

• You do not need to restart the cron service after editing as Proxmox picks up changes automatically.

• Ensure the script path and permissions are correct.