Sometimes you need to remove a node from a Proxmox cluster, whether it’s to reassign it to another use, resolve configuration issues, or simply reorganize your infrastructure. Here’s how to proceed properly.

I tested this procedure on Proxmox VE 7.x and 8.x. It allows you to remove a specific node from the cluster without affecting other nodes.

⚠️ Warning: This procedure will only remove the current node from the cluster. Other cluster nodes will continue to operate normally.

Node Preparation

Before starting, check the node’s status in the cluster:

pvecm status

If possible, migrate all VMs and containers to other cluster nodes.

Stopping Cluster Services on the Node

On the node to be removed, stop the cluster services:

systemctl stop pve-cluster corosync

Cleaning Cluster Configuration

Remove the cluster configuration files on this node:

pmxcfs -l
rm -rf /etc/corosync/*
rm /etc/pve/corosync.conf

Finalization

Stop the cluster filesystem and restart services:

killall pmxcfs
systemctl start pve-cluster

Verification

Verify that the node is no longer in the cluster:

pvecm status

The node should now be standalone and ready to be used individually or join another cluster.

Your node is now successfully removed from the cluster and ready for its new purpose!