Migrate ESXi to Proxmox 2026 | Step-by-Step VM Migration

Broadcom’s VMware licensing changes pushed many teams to evaluate Proxmox VE.
This 2026 migration guide walks through moving a production VM from VMware ESXi
to Proxmox on the same hardware — without paid conversion tools.

Before you start

Proxmox VE 8.x or 9.x installed and reachable on port 8006
Enough storage on Proxmox for imported VMDK files (local-lvm or NFS)
Maintenance window — plan 30–120 minutes per VM depending on disk size
Snapshot or power-off ESXi VM before export for consistency
Document MAC address, IP, and disk layout before migration

Migration methods overview

Method	Best for	Downtime
OVA/OVF export + importdisk	Most Linux/Windows VMs	Full VM downtime
Raw VMDK copy + qm importdisk	Large disks, scripted migrations	Full VM downtime
qemu-img convert offline	qcow2/raw intermediate format	Full VM downtime

Step 1: Inventory and Snapshot the ESXi VM

In VMware Host Client select the VM → Snapshots → Take Snapshot (or power off for crash-consistent copy). Record vCPU, RAM, disk sizes, network adapter type, and guest OS. Note whether VMware Tools is installed — you will replace it with QEMU Guest Agent on Proxmox.

VMware ESXi Host Client VM inventory before Proxmox migration — ESXi VM inventory and export prep

Step 2: Export OVF/OVA or Copy VMDK from ESXi

Right-click VM → Export OVF Template to datastore, or copy the flat .vmdk via SCP. For a 32 GB disk expect 5–15 minutes over 1 Gbps LAN.

Export OVF OVA from VMware ESXi Host Client — Export VM from ESXi

Step 3: Transfer VMDK to Proxmox Node

Use SCP, rsync, or temporary NFS mount to copy the VMDK to /var/lib/vz/images/ or an import staging directory on the Proxmox host.

SCP VMDK transfer from ESXi to Proxmox server — Transfer VMDK to Proxmox

Step 4: Create VM Shell and Import Disk with qm

Create an empty VM ID, import the VMDK with qm importdisk, attach as scsi0, set boot order, enable QEMU guest agent, and configure network on vmbr0.

Proxmox qm importdisk migrate ESXi VMDK — Proxmox qm importdisk migration

Step 5: Fix Boot Loader and Install QEMU Guest Agent

Linux VMs may need virtio-scsi drivers in initramfs. Windows VMs need VirtIO ISO drivers for disk and network. Install qemu-guest-agent inside the guest after first boot.

Configure Proxmox VM boot and virtio drivers after ESXi migration — Boot loader and guest agent

Step 6: Verify and Cut Over

Confirm VM status running, guest IP visible in Proxmox Summary tab, application smoke test passes, then update DNS/load balancer. Keep ESXi VM powered off until sign-off.

Verify migrated VM running on Proxmox with guest agent — Verify migrated VM on Proxmox

Full migration command reference

# On Proxmox — create VM and import VMDK
qm create 200 --name ubuntu-web-migrated --memory 4096 --cores 2 --net0 virtio,bridge=vmbr0
qm importdisk 200 /var/lib/vz/images/ubuntu-web.vmdk local-lvm
qm set 200 --scsihw virtio-scsi-pci --scsi0 local-lvm:vm-200-disk-0
qm set 200 --boot order=scsi0
qm set 200 --agent enabled=1
qm start 200

# Inside Linux guest after boot
apt update && apt install -y qemu-guest-agent
systemctl enable --now qemu-guest-agent

# Optional: convert VMDK to qcow2 first
qemu-img convert -p -f vmdk -O qcow2 source.vmdk /var/lib/vz/images/converted.qcow2

Windows VM notes

Attach VirtIO drivers ISO during first Proxmox boot (download from fedora virtio-win repo)
Change SCSI controller to VirtIO SCSI in Proxmox hardware tab
Uninstall VMware Tools after QEMU agent is working

Migrate ESXi to Proxmox: Step-by-Step Guide (2026)