LXC AutoScale is an async resource management daemon for Proxmox environments. It automatically adjusts CPU and memory allocations for LXC containers based on real-time usage metrics and predefined thresholds. It runs on the Proxmox node or drives one over SSH. Container cloning (horizontal scaling) exists but is experimental and has known defects; see Feature status before enabling it.

• v2.0 — async architecture, Pydantic config, security hardening
• Tested on Proxmox VE 8.x (8.3.3) and 9.1, Python 3.10 to 3.14

Quick Start

• Async architecture — fully non-blocking event loop using asyncio
• Pydantic configuration with type validation and ${ENV_VAR} expansion for secrets
• Automatic vertical scaling of CPU cores and memory based on usage thresholds
• Horizontal scaling via container cloning (experimental)
• Per-container or per-group threshold configuration using tiers
• CPU core pinning to an L3 cache domain (l3:N, a CCD on AMD), a NUMA node (numa:N), or to P-cores and E-cores on hybrid Intel
• Cgroup-based metrics for both CPU and memory (no pct exec needed)
• Timezone-aware off-peak scheduling (configurable, defaults to UTC)
• Host CPU and memory reservation, subtracted from the pool the daemon considers available
• Container exclusion list (ignore_lxc)
• Energy efficiency mode that reduces resources during off-peak hours
• SSH connection pool with configurable host key verification (default: reject)
• Notifications via email (SMTP), Gotify, and Uptime Kuma (async, fire-and-forget)
• JSON metrics log with rotation (10MB limit)
• Local execution or remote execution via SSH
• Docker support with optional non-root user for API-only mode
• 445 tests, run in CI on Python 3.10 through 3.14
• Boost/revert scaling mode — temporary resource boosts with automatic revert after configurable duration

• Proxmox VE 8.x or 9.x (tested on 8.3.3 and 9.1.7)
• Python 3.10+. The daemon does not start on 3.9: a lock is built at import time and binds an event loop that the runtime then replaces. Proxmox VE 7 ships 3.9 and is no longer supported.
• Root access to the Proxmox host
• LXC containers already created and configured
• Internet connection for downloading the installation script

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/fabriziosalmi/proxmox-lxc-autoscale/main/install.sh | bash

systemctl status lxc_autoscale.service

Starting with v1.2.0, CPU usage is measured via host-side cgroup accounting (cgroup v2/v1). This reads the kernel's own CPU time tracking for each container directly from the Proxmox host, without needing to execute commands inside containers. Benefits:

• Accurate measurements that match what Proxmox shows in its web UI
• No dependency on LXCFS being installed in containers
• Minimal overhead (simple file reads instead of pct exec per container)
• Works correctly on low-core hosts with many containers

If cgroup accounting is unavailable, the daemon falls back to /proc/stat (requires LXCFS) and then to load average estimation.

ExecStart=/usr/bin/lxcfs /var/lib/lxcfs -l

Pin a tier to a subset of the host's CPUs via the cpu_pinning tier setting. Groups are auto-detected from the kernel, so the config does not hard-code CPU numbers.

# AMD: keep the database on its own CCD, so background work cannot evict its L3.
TIER_databases:
  lxc_containers:
    - "102"
  cpu_pinning: l3:0

TIER_background_tasks:
  lxc_containers:
    - "105"
    - "106"
  cpu_pinning: l3:1

Accepted values: l3:N (one L3 cache domain, a CCD/CCX on AMD), numa:N (one NUMA node), p-cores and e-cores (hybrid Intel only), all, or an explicit range like 0-11 or 0,2,4,6-8. The groups this host offers are logged the first time a tier asks for one, not at startup.

On a single-socket host with one L3 domain, l3:0 and numa:0 resolve to every CPU, which is no restriction at all. See CPU Core Pinning.

LXC AutoScale is configured via a YAML file at /etc/lxc_autoscale/lxc_autoscale.yaml. For detailed configuration options, see the documentation.

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/fabriziosalmi/proxmox-lxc-autoscale/main/lxc_autoscale/lxc_autoscale_autoconf.sh | bash

• LXC AutoScale UI - Simple web UI to check scaling actions and logs
• LXC AutoScale - TIER snippets for 40 self-hosted apps

LXC AutoScale is tested on Proxmox VE 8.3.3. It may work on older versions, but compatibility is not guaranteed.

Yes. Configure the container IDs in the YAML file and the service will start managing them.

No, LXC AutoScale is designed for LXC containers only. For VM autoscaling, see proxmox-vm-autoscale.

Yes. Two options:

Set use_remote_proxmox: true and provide SSH credentials. Every command runs through pct on the far end. There is no REST path, see below.

No. A REST implementation sat in the tree for a year without ever being connected to the daemon, so backend: api changed nothing while appearing to work. It has been removed, and that value is now refused at startup with a message saying why. Building a real one is tracked as #56.

Read Feature status first, and test in a non-production environment. Two things to know before you decide. There is no rollback. A --rollback flag existed and restored nothing, because no backup was ever written; it was removed in 2.0.5 rather than left in place looking like a safety net (#88). Container settings live in /etc/pve/lxc/<ctid>.conf and in your Proxmox backups. And the daemon rewrites the configuration of running containers as root, so the blast radius of a mistake is the guest, not the daemon: use ignore_lxc to scope it to containers you are willing to have resized while you evaluate it.

The default polling interval is 300 seconds (5 minutes). Adjust with the poll_interval setting.

Yes. Add container IDs to the ignore_lxc list in the configuration file.

For more detailed questions and answers, see the Q&A documentation.

Running this on your Proxmox fleet? I offer paid support, custom development, and consulting - infrastructure automation, hardening, and monitoring & detection. Reach out: fabrizio.salmi@gmail.com.

Contributions are welcome. To get involved:

• Open an issue to report bugs or request features.
• Submit a pull request.
• Fork the repository to develop custom features.

LXC AutoScale is made better by the people who contribute to it. Thank you to everyone who has helped improve the project.

• Fabrizio Salmi — Project author and maintainer
• Clement Kibet

See the full contributors graph.

LXC AutoScale is licensed under the MIT License, which means you are free to use, modify, and distribute this software with proper attribution. For more details, please see the LICENSE file.