Pi-hole v6 Installation Guide for Proxmox VE 9 LXC Container

This guide provides step-by-step instructions for installing Pi-hole v6.2.2 on Proxmox VE 9 as an LXC container with a static IP address.

Prerequisites

Proxmox VE 9.0.x installed and running
SSH or console access to Proxmox host
Network connectivity for downloading container templates
An available static IP address on your network
Your network gateway IP address

Network Configuration Required

Before starting, determine:

Desired Pi-hole IP: An unused static IP (e.g., 192.168.10.100)
Gateway (typically router) IP: Your router's IP (e.g., 192.168.10.1)
Subnet Mask: Usually /24 for home networks

Installation Steps

Step 1: Create the LXC Container

All commands should be run on the Proxmox host (not inside a container)

Ensure your templates are up-to-date

pveam update

Identify the correct version of Debian available

pveam available | grep debian | grep -v turnkey

For this guide, Debian 12 will be used. Download it to local storage. Local storage is typically reserved for backups, iso images, and container templates (if using a newer version of Debian, replace the image as needed)

pveam download local debian-12-standard_12.12-1_amd64.tar.zst

Create the container

pct create 100 local:vztmpl/debian-12-standard_12.12-1_amd64.tar.zst \
  --hostname pihole \
  --memory 512 \
  --cores 1 \
  --rootfs local-lvm:4 \
  --net0 name=eth0,bridge=vmbr0,ip=192.168.10.100/24,gw=192.168.10.1 \
  --unprivileged 1 \
  --features nesting=1 \
  --onboot 1 \
  --start 1

Parameters explained:

100: Container ID (must be unique)
--memory 512: 512MB RAM (minimum for Pi-hole)
--cores 1: Single CPU core (sufficient for home use)
--rootfs local-lvm:4: 4GB disk space
--net0: Static IP configuration
--unprivileged 1: Better security isolation
--features nesting=1: Required for Pi-hole
--onboot 1: Auto-start on system boot
--start 1: Start immediately after creation

Important adjustments to make:

Container ID (100): Change if already in use (check with pct list)
IP Address: Replace 192.168.10.100/24 with your desired static IP. My homelab is on 192.168.10.0/24 and I take the Container ID and use it for the IP. In this case the container ID is 100 so I will use 192.168.10.100.
Gateway: Replace 192.168.10.1 with your network's gateway
Storage: Replace local-lvm if using different storage (check with pvesm status). Note this is different than local, which is where we downloaded the template.
Bridge: Replace vmbr0 if using different bridge (check with ip a | grep vmbr). However vmbr0 will be correct for most people.

Verify the container has been created (replace 100 with your container id)

pct status 100

Step 2: Initial Container Setup

Enter the container

pct enter 100

Update the container

apt update && apt upgrade -y

Install required packages

apt install -y \
    curl \
    wget \
    sudo \
    git \
    ca-certificates \
    gnupg \
    ufw

Ensure certificates are updated

update-ca-certificates

Enter the temp folder

cd /tmp

Download the latest release (update as needed: https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/releases)

wget https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/archive/refs/tags/v6.2.2.tar.gz

Extract the tar

tar -xzf v6.2.2.tar.gz

Move to the install directory

cd pi-hole-6.2.2/automated\ install/

Review the installation script (optional)

less basic-install.sh

Run the Installer. The script method is used due to the LXC having issues running the interactive installer.

script -c "bash basic-install.sh" /dev/null

Step 3: Install Pi-hole

Press "OK" for the initial prompt regarding Pi-hole.
Press "OK" after reading the donation information
Read the notice regarding the static IP, press "Continue"
Select desired Upstream DNS Provider
Accept the default blocklist
Enable query logging
Select "Yes" to select a privacy mode
Take note of the web address for Pi-hole
Press "OK" to finish the installation

Step 4: Post Installation Steps

Open up the root .bashrc file

nano /root/.bashrc

At the bottom, add the path to /usr/local/bin

export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/bin

Run source to make the changes take effect

source /root/.bashrc

Verify you can run pihole commands

pihole -v

Now set the Pi-hole admin password

pihole setpassword "<YOUR PASSWORD>"

Finally, configure ufw (firewall)

ufw allow 53/tcp
ufw allow 53/udp
ufw allow 80/tcp

Enable ufw

ufw --force enable

Exit the container

exit

Step 5: Configure Router/Devices

Point your network devices to use Pi-hole as their DNS server:

Option 1: Router Level (Recommended - Affects all devices)

Access your router's admin interface
Set Primary DNS to: 192.168.10.100 (your Pi-hole IP)
Set Secondary DNS to: 1.1.1.1 (Cloudflare as fallback)
Save and restart router if needed

Option 2: Individual Devices

Configure each device's network settings
Set DNS server to your Pi-hole IP address

Common Pi-hole CLI Commands

Update Pi-hole

pihole -up

Check Pi-hole status

pihole status

Tail Pi-hole logs (CTRL+C to exit)

pihole -t

Conclusion

Your Pi-hole is now installed and configured on Proxmox VE 9. The system will automatically block ads and trackers for all devices using it as their DNS server.

Next Steps:

Add additional blocklists via the web interface
Whitelist any necessary domains
Monitor the dashboard for blocked queries
Set up regular backups
Install Nginx Proxy Manager and set up local DNS entries

For additional help, visit the Pi-hole documentation.