“unsupported debian version” / Container Creation Failures on PVE 8 & 9

[MickLesk]

We are receiving multiple reports per day (5 or more) about this issue — but please note:
➡️ This is not caused by the Community Scripts.
➡️ It’s a known Proxmox bug related to the pve-container package.

Examples: #8095 #8106 #8058 #8085

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🧩 Problem Description

When you try to create a container using one of the Community Scripts, you may see one of the following errors:

Example 1

TASK ERROR: unable to create CT 129 - unsupported debian version '13.1'

Example 2

✖️ Container creation failed. Checking if template is corrupted or incomplete.
✖️ Template is valid, but container creation still failed.

[ERROR] in line 1152: exit code 0: while executing command bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/community-scripts/ProxmoxVE/main/misc/create_lxc.sh)" $?

Example 3

✖️ Template file too small or missing – re-downloading.
⏳ Attempt 1: Re-downloading template...
download failed: Cannot write to '/var/lib/vz/template/cache/debian-13-standard_13.1-2_amd64.tar.zst.tmp_dwnl.2687660'
(No space left on device)

These messages may look like script errors — but they actually originate from Proxmox VE’s own LXC subsystem (pve-container).

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🧠 Root Cause

Proxmox has a known bug in recent versions of the pve-container package.
It incorrectly marks newer Debian releases (e.g. 13.1 “Trixie”) as unsupported when creating a new container.

This affects:

• ✅ Proxmox VE 8.x
• ✅ Proxmox VE 9.x
• ❌ Not related to Community Scripts or template corruption

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🛠️ Solution

You must update your Proxmox host packages, especially pve-container.

Run the following command on your Proxmox node (not inside the container):

apt update
apt install --only-upgrade pve-container -y

After upgrading, verify the version:

dpkg -l pve-container

Make sure it’s the latest available for your PVE version.

Then re-run the script — the container will be created successfully.

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⚠️ Additional Tips

1. If you upgraded Debian templates manually, ensure you’re using the latest:

   pveam update

2. Check disk space before downloading templates:

   df -h /var/lib/vz

3. If “No space left on device” appears, free up space or move templates to another storage.

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✅ Summary

Issue	Cause	Fix
unsupported debian version '13.1'	Outdated pve-container package	apt install --only-upgrade pve-container -y
Template missing/corrupted	Network or disk issue	Re-download via pveam update
“No space left on device”	Storage full	Free up /var/lib/vz space

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🧭 TL;DR

This is a Proxmox issue, not a script issue.
Keep your Proxmox host fully updated — especially pve-container — and the problem will disappear.

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📢 Important Announcement

Because we receive at least five identical Issues every day, this guide will serve as our official reference.
New Issues about this Proxmox bug will be closed immediately with a link to this document.

In the coming days and weeks, we’ll begin upgrading all Debian 12 scripts (where possible) to Debian 13 to ensure long-term compatibility and fewer false error reports.

Thank you for your understanding and support. 💙

— The Community Scripts Team