Kept
The official image, its internal paths, its environment, its startup process and its functional documentation.
OCI manager Apps
OCI manager Apps~4 min
Official OCI images run as native Proxmox VE LXC containers. The image stays the one its maintainer publishes; ProxMenux reproduces the environment Docker Compose would have created around it.
One OCI image, one native LXC
No Docker engine runs inside the containers. Proxmox VE imports the image's filesystem and its OCI metadata, and the application becomes the main process of a native LXC, managed with the same tools as any other container of the node.
Source
OCI image
Compose and documentation
ProxMenux
JSON contract
validation and plan
Proxmox VE
native LXC
volumes and devices
The application is not rebuilt: its environment is reproduced declaratively.
Where it is
OCI manager Apps opens from option OCI manager Apps (Technology Preview) of the ProxMenux main menu, on the Proxmox node and as root. Its first screen offers:
- Search applications — search by name across the catalog.
- All applications — the complete catalog, with the number of applications.
- Manage installed OCI applications — update, modify, remove or recover what was installed.
- Registry accounts — the accounts used to install and update images from private registries.
- Install an image that is not in the catalog — translate a Compose file, a
docker runcommand or an image reference. - The catalog categories, each with its number of applications.
Selecting an application shows its description, the image it runs and two installation modes: Install with default settings, which asks only what every installation decides (storage, where the data goes, address and start), and Install with advanced settings, which opens every decision in order: VMID and resources, the storage of each path, the bridge and the devices.
An application that has been tested for real shows Verified in that view and is marked with ✓ in the lists, whether it was tested in the ProxMenux lab or by the community.
Why it is a Technology Preview
OCI manager Apps carries the Technology Preview label that Proxmox VE gives to application containers created from OCI images, introduced in Proxmox VE 9.1. It refers to what OCI manager Apps runs on, not to the ProxMenux engine: the behaviour of those containers can still change between Proxmox VE releases. The label stays until Proxmox VE marks that support as stable.
The engine of OCI manager Apps (installation, update, modification, recreation, backups, restore, migration and watchdog) is tested in the ProxMenux lab. Each application is tested on its own: the ones tested for real show Verified and carry a ✓ in the lists.
What Docker expresses and what OCI manager Apps turns it into
| Requirement | Docker expresses it as | OCI manager Apps turns it into |
|---|---|---|
| Run the application | image, entrypoint, command | OCI rootfs and the main process of the LXC |
| Keep configuration | volumes: /config | a persistent mpN disk included in the backup, or a host directory |
| Publish the service | ports | an address of its own for the LXC and the access URL of the service |
| Use hardware | devices, group_add | devN entries with the effective host GID and a validated profile |
| Connect dependencies | networks, depends_on | a private bridge, fixed addresses, start order and healthchecks |
| Update | pull and recreate | a new rootfs with the same persistent contract |
What is kept and what changes
Adapted
The runtime environment: network, persistence, devices, permissions and dependencies use native Proxmox VE LXC primitives.
Not translated
A Compose key with no safe equivalent is listed as a blocker. Templates with blockers are not offered, and sensitive options are confirmed during the installation.
Recorded
Image digest, resources, paths, network, devices and stack membership are stored in the instance contract, which updates and recreations reproduce.
Pages of this section
- How an OCI image is translated — from the image and its Compose file to a native LXC.
- Install an image that is not in the catalog — Compose, docker run or an image reference.
- Data, paths and networking — container disks, host directories, Rclone mounts and addresses.
- Devices and acceleration — GPU, NVIDIA, Coral, USB and other devices.
- Multi-container applications — application, database and cache as coordinated LXCs.
- Install, update and modify — the instance contract and its operations.
- In ProxMenux Monitor — versions, updates, console output and terminal.