free-pmx-no-subscription for Proxmox VE/BS/MG

No subscription, no chores

The tool is designed to be a simple add-on - download and install - and takes care of setting up original Proxmox ’no-subscription’ repositories and removing the marketing annoyances from first login. It requires no configuration, no interaction and no manual intervention to keep the setup in place when the upgrades are about to disrupt it. That said, it is specifically designed to fail gracefully, taking care NOT to damage your installation. Can be used on existing system, fresh Proxmox ISO install or Debian-first install scenarios alike.

Download and install

Download just like any other file, directly onto your host, first without installing it:

wget -P /tmp https://free-pmx.pages.dev/tools/free-pmx-no-subscription_0.2.0.deb

To install:

apt install /tmp/free-pmx-no-subscription_0.2.0.deb

On an existing Proxmox system, this will do everything you need upon the install already:

• set up no-subscription repository; and
• remove no-subscription popup and the other marketing-like visual artefacts.

Typical installation example

This is what you can observe in the course of the typical installation on a never-before patched PVE system:

The repositories setup:

free-pmx: NO-SUBSCRIPTION - 'No Subscription' Repositories Setup
Automatic run.
Detecting default lists ... pve ceph
Setting up for pve ...
+ Disabled original: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-enterprise.list
+ Created new: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-no-subscription.list
Setting up for ceph ...
+ Disabled original: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ceph.list
+ Created new: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ceph-no-subscription.list
Completed total 2 of 2.

Checking for Proxmox release key: /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/proxmox-release-bookworm.gpg ...
+ Already present:
pub   rsa4096 2022-11-27 [SC] [expires: 2032-11-24]
      F4E136C67CDCE41AE6DE6FC81140AF8F639E0C39
uid                      Proxmox Bookworm Release Key <proxmox-release@proxmox.com>

sha512 7da6fe34168adc6e479327ba517796d4702fa2f8b4f0a9833f5ea6e6b48f6507a6da403a274fe201595edc86a84463d50383d07f64bdde2e3658108
db7d6dc87

The nags removal:

free-pmx: NO-NAG - 'No Subscription' Nags Removal
Automatic run.
Patches applicable to: /usr/share/javascript/proxmox-widget-toolkit/proxmoxlib.js  ...
+ OK: Common popup notice
+ OK: Common summary 'non-production repository' warning
+ OK: Common 'All OK' repos status
+ OK: Common 'not recommended for production use' repos status message
+ OK: Common 'no-subscription' repos line highlight
Patches applicable to: /usr/share/pve-manager/js/pvemanagerlib.js  ...
+ OK: PVE Datacenter Summary Subscription panel
+ OK: PVE Datacenter Summary Nodes panel - Support column

And the manual pages added:

Processing triggers for man-db (2.11.2-2) ...

Done. You would also notice the same happening during later updates when the tool needs to intercept updated files from Proxmox.

Removal

To remove the package:

apt remove free-pmx-no-subscription

That’s all - no skeletons in the wardrobe left behind.

Configuration

If you want to configure the basic behaviour further, in particular the Ceph repository used, there is a rudimentary configuration file /etc/free-pmx/no-subscription.conf:

FREE_PMX_NO_SUBSCRIPTION=auto   # auto | manual | prohibit
FREE_PMX_NO_NAG=auto            # auto | manual | prohibit

FREE_PMX_CEPH=quincy            # actual release name, e.g. quincy, reef, squid

The other two options are explained in the manual pages of each user tool (see below) - which by default run automatically.

User tools

The user is NOT typically meant to have to invoke the provided commands manually as they automatically run when necessary as per default configuration. That said, the commands provided - that have just run during the install - will now be available in the host shell (CLI).

no-subscription

Standalone tool which is also triggered (default configuration) if the enterprise repository lists were to be reinstalled. It creates correct no-subscription repository lists and puts aside the original ones. More details are provided in the manual page: man no-subscription

no-nag

Standalone tool which will be triggered (default configuration) whenever Proxmox update their UI - makes sure the files are continually patched. More details are provided in the manual page: man no-nag

Even more details in particular on the approach are in the companion post looking at why this is a robust method of disabling UI elements.

Install on plain Debian

If you are performing an install of top of Debian, you can install the free-pmx package first, but it will not know which Proxmox product you are about to install, so you have to manually ask it to auto-configure your system for the desired repository (or more, e.g. pve ceph), then proceed with installation of the Proxmox product. This is when the ability to manually invoke the tool comes handy - example for PBS:

no-subscription pbs
apt update
apt install proxmox-backup-server

It also means that you do NOT have to set up the repositories manually, you also do NOT have to download Proxmox release key - it is downloaded from Proxmox servers, but you can certainly manually check its SHA512 fingerprint as published on their website - it is conveniently displayed by the tool.

Notes on GUI tweaks

There’s a simple philosophy to the approach this tool takes when it comes to altering the GUI experience:

1. prevent marketing elements be presented as visually equal to genuine system warnings; and
2. do NOT misrepresent the reality, i.e. do NOT conceal Proxmox recommendations; and
3. prevent external linking (promotion) while retaining discoverability (of the applied changes).

All of the above is obvious in the initial screenshot at top of this post:

• The subscription level is easy to differentiate from the paid tiers, however - by using this tool - the user has acknowledged they are aware of this.

• Community support level is shown in any case as there is no barrier of entry to the Proxmox support forum for non-subscribers as opposed to lowest tier (‘Community’) subscribers.

• A tiny link to the full disclaimer (as opposed to whole panel - the only one in the whole GUI - being clickable and pointing to sales page) at the bottom of this post is available should anyone unaware of the setup come to this system.

Furthermore, software repositories focus on whether user is receiving updates alone - it was explicit user’s choice to setup no-subscription repositories.

Importantly, the explicit tabs to check subscription status and support options are still available - this allows to add subscription to a node with patched GUI.

Finally, only GUI elements are patched, there is no faux licensing information injected or API backend tampered with.

Changelog v0.2.0

• CLI tools renamed

  • no-subscription
  • no-nag

• New features

  • Removal of ALL no-subscription GUI warning artefacts: PVE, PBS, PMG - popup, all dashboards, repositories
  • Added support for PMG repository

• Improvements

  • CLI options & arguments handling
  • Extended user notices after manual runs
  • No leftover .gnupg-XXXXXX directories in /tmp/
  • Sources re-structured for easier auditing

Feedback

Feedback is very welcome in the project’s GitHub repository.

License

Free use of this tool is granted under the terms of the AGPL v3 License.  

The modifications it helps you perform on Proxmox products are also permitted under the same license, as granted by Proxmox themselves.

Disclaimer

The tool of free-pmx-no-subscription sets up only original Proxmox repositories.

HOWEVER, DO NOTE:

• Proxmox expressly do NOT recommend use of ’no-subscription’ software packages for production use;   and
• the authors of this tool are NOT in any way affiliated with Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH.

THE TOOL IS A THIRD-PARTY PRODUCT AND IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” BASIS AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE.