Backing Up Proxmox VE Config to Google Drive (Without VM Images) - myomaniac/myomaniaclab GitHub Wiki

This guide shows how to back up your Proxmox Virtual Environment configuration (without VM disk images) to Google Drive, using the powerful and flexible rclone tool. This is perfect for homelab users or admins who want to:

  • Preserve system configurations
  • Rebuild or clone nodes quickly
  • Store off-site backups without heavy files

We’ll keep it clean and simple, and automate the process using a shell script and daily cronjob.

🧠 What Are We Backing Up?

These files define your Proxmox environment β€” minus VM disk data.

What Path
Cluster/Node Config /etc/pve/
Network Interfaces /etc/network/interfaces
Storage Config /etc/pve/storage.cfg
VM/LXC Definitions /etc/pve/qemu-server/, /etc/pve/lxc/
System Config /etc/fstab, /etc/hosts

πŸ› οΈ Step 1: Install rclone (with nala)

nala update && nala install rclone -y

πŸ“¦ Step 2: Create a Config Backup Script

Let’s package the system config into a timestamped .tar.gz archive and keep only the last 5.

Create script directory:

mkdir -p /root/proxmox-backup

Create the script:

nano /root/proxmox-backup/backup-env.sh

Paste this:

#!/usr/bin/env bash
DATE=$(date +%Y-%m-%d)
BACKUP_DIR="/root/proxmox-backup"
ARCHIVE_NAME="pve-env-$DATE.tar.gz"
ARCHIVE_PATH="$BACKUP_DIR/$ARCHIVE_NAME"

echo "πŸ”„ Creating backup archive..."
tar -czf "$ARCHIVE_PATH"   /etc/pve   /etc/network/interfaces   /etc/fstab   /etc/hosts

echo "βœ… Archive created: $ARCHIVE_NAME"

echo "🧹 Removing old backups (keeping last 5)..."
ls -1t "$BACKUP_DIR"/pve-env-*.tar.gz | tail -n +6 | xargs -r rm -f

echo "☁️ Uploading backup to Google Drive..."
rclone copy "$ARCHIVE_PATH" gdrive:proxmox-backups --quiet

echo "βœ… Backup routine completed."

Make it executable:

chmod +x /root/proxmox-backup/backup-env.sh

☁️ Step 3: Connect Google Drive with rclone

rclone config

Follow these inputs:

  • n β†’ New remote
  • Name β†’ gdrive
  • Storage β†’ 18 (Google Drive)
  • Client ID β†’ Enter
  • Client Secret β†’ Enter
  • Scope β†’ 1 (Full access)
  • Root folder ID β†’ Enter
  • Service account β†’ Enter
  • Advanced config β†’ n
  • Auto config β†’ n

On your local PC:

rclone authorize "drive"
  • Copy the JSON token
  • Paste it into your Proxmox terminal when it asks: config_token>

Finish setup:

  • Shared Drive β†’ n
  • Confirm β†’ y
  • Quit β†’ q

πŸš€ Step 4: Upload Backup Manually

To push today’s backup to Google Drive:

/root/proxmox-backup/backup-env.sh

This will:

  • Create a .tar.gz archive of your environment config
  • Keep only the 5 most recent local copies
  • Upload the new archive to Google Drive under proxmox-backups

⏰ Step 5: Automate Daily Backups (Cron)

Edit the root crontab:

crontab -e

Add this line:

0 3 * * * /root/proxmox-backup/backup-env.sh >> /var/log/pve-env-backup.log 2>&1

This runs every day at 3:00 AM, logs output, and:

  • Creates a new backup
  • Deletes old ones beyond the last 5
  • Uploads the new one to your linked Google Drive

βœ… Summary

You’ve now:

  • Archived your full Proxmox config (no VMs)
  • Uploaded it securely to the cloud
  • Scheduled it for daily, automatic rotation

This gives you peace of mind, fast system recovery, and flexibility β€” all without storing bulky VM data.

Next: Use rclone to back up actual VM .vma.zst images, or add OneDrive as a secondary remote!