# Quick Answer: Proxmox Compatibility

## ⚠️ TL;DR: **NO, not on Proxmox host. YES, inside VMs.**

---

## 🔴 Running on Proxmox Host: **NOT RECOMMENDED**

### Why Not?

1. **zram** will steal RAM from your VMs (up to 50% of total RAM)
2. **tmpfs** will allocate 40% of RAM, reducing VM memory
3. **Kernel parameters** are tuned for desktop, not hypervisor workloads
4. May cause **VM performance degradation** and instability

### What Could Go Wrong?

- VMs running slower due to memory pressure
- Increased swap usage on VMs
- Proxmox host becomes less responsive
- Unpredictable behavior under heavy VM load

---

## ✅ Running Inside VMs: **FULLY SAFE & RECOMMENDED**

Perfect use case! Run the optimizer **inside your desktop VMs**:

```bash
# Inside your Ubuntu/Fedora/etc desktop VM:
sudo ./one-button-optimizer.sh
```

### Benefits Inside VMs:
- ✅ Full optimizations without affecting host
- ✅ Browser/IDE caching works great
- ✅ Each VM gets its own optimized environment
- ✅ No risk to other VMs or Proxmox host

---

## 📊 Safe to Use Anywhere (Read-Only Tools)

These monitoring scripts are **100% safe** on Proxmox host or VMs:

```bash
./quick-status-check.sh     # System overview
./tmpfs-info.sh              # tmpfs information  
./benchmark-tmpfs.sh         # Performance test
./benchmark-realistic.sh     # Cache simulation
```

They only **read** information, make no changes.

---

## 🛡️ Protection Built-In

The script now **detects Proxmox** and shows this warning:

```
⚠️  Proxmox VE host detected!

This tool is designed for desktop Linux systems and may not be
suitable for Proxmox hosts. Key concerns:

  🔴 zram: Reduces RAM available for VMs
  🟡 tmpfs: Allocates significant memory (up to 40%)
  🟡 Kernel params: Tuned for desktop, not hypervisor

Continue anyway? (y/N):
```

You can abort safely or proceed if you understand the risks.

---

## 🎯 Recommendations by Use Case

| Scenario | Recommendation | Reason |
|----------|---------------|--------|
| Desktop VM | ✅ **USE IT** | Perfect match, fully safe |
| Proxmox Host | ❌ **DON'T USE** | Wrong optimizations |
| Container (LXC) | ⚠️ **MAYBE** | Depends on privileged/unprivileged |
| Testing | 📊 **READ-ONLY TOOLS** | Safe monitoring only |

---

## 💡 Summary

**Simple Rule:**
- Inside VMs: **GO FOR IT!** 🚀
- On Proxmox host: **DON'T!** ⛔
- Monitoring scripts: **Always safe** 👍

**Detailed Analysis:** See [PROXMOX_COMPATIBILITY.md](PROXMOX_COMPATIBILITY.md)