Packer build: autoinstall gets stuck at language select.

[H4ckersahib]

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Overview of the Issue

I wanted to create a VM Template for ubuntu-22.04.2-live-server-amd64.iso with packer and Proxmox VE. To install and configure the OS I use autoinstall. The problem is that the VM gets stuck in the language select screen as soon as it says waiting for cloud-init... when I try to build it with packer. Proxmox is running on a separate VM.

This is the last screenshot before it gets stuck.

Language select screen.

Reproduction Steps

Steps to reproduce this issue

Packer version

From Packer v1.14.2

Simplified Packer Template

https://gist.github.com/H4ckersahib/a471d596e511992e84ec638f52f9a6e2

Operating system and Environment details

Host machine: Windows 10
Proxmox: PROXMOX Virtual Environment 9.0.3
VM Template iso: ubuntu-22.04.2-live-server-amd64.iso

Log Fragments and crash.log files

[...]

2025/10/19 20:43:56 ui: ==> ubuntu-server-focal.proxmox-iso.ubuntu-server-focal: Creating VM
2025/10/19 20:43:58 ui: ==> ubuntu-server-focal.proxmox-iso.ubuntu-server-focal: Starting VM
2025/10/19 20:44:00 packer-plugin-proxmox_v1.2.3_x5.0_windows_amd64.exe plugin: 2025/10/19 20:44:00 Found available port: 8338 on IP: 0.0.0.0
2025/10/19 20:44:00 ui: ==> ubuntu-server-focal.proxmox-iso.ubuntu-server-focal: Starting HTTP server on port 8338
2025/10/19 20:44:00 ui: ==> ubuntu-server-focal.proxmox-iso.ubuntu-server-focal: Waiting 2s for boot
2025/10/19 20:44:02 ui: ==> ubuntu-server-focal.proxmox-iso.ubuntu-server-focal: Typing the boot command
2025/10/19 20:44:11 packer-plugin-proxmox_v1.2.3_x5.0_windows_amd64.exe plugin: 2025/10/19 20:44:11 [INFO] Waiting 5s
2025/10/19 20:44:19 packer-plugin-proxmox_v1.2.3_x5.0_windows_amd64.exe plugin: 2025/10/19 20:44:19 [DEBUG] Unable to get address during connection step: 500 QEMU guest agent is not running
2025/10/19 20:44:19 packer-plugin-proxmox_v1.2.3_x5.0_windows_amd64.exe plugin: 2025/10/19 20:44:19 [INFO] Waiting for SSH, up to timeout: 20m0s
2025/10/19 20:44:19 ui: ==> ubuntu-server-focal.proxmox-iso.ubuntu-server-focal: Waiting for SSH to become available...
2025/10/19 20:44:22 packer-plugin-proxmox_v1.2.3_x5.0_windows_amd64.exe plugin: 2025/10/19 20:44:22 [DEBUG] Error getting SSH address: 500 QEMU guest agent is not running
2025/10/19 20:44:31 packer-plugin-proxmox_v1.2.3_x5.0_windows_amd64.exe plugin: 2025/10/19 20:44:31 [DEBUG] Error getting SSH address: 500 QEMU guest agent is not running
2025/10/19 20:44:39 packer-plugin-proxmox_v1.2.3_x5.0_windows_amd64.exe plugin: 2025/10/19 20:44:39 [DEBUG] Error getting SSH address: 500 QEMU guest agent is not running
2025/10/19 20:44:47 packer-plugin-proxmox_v1.2.3_x5.0_windows_amd64.exe plugin: 2025/10/19 20:44:47 [DEBUG] Error getting SSH address: 500 QEMU guest agent is not running
2025/10/19 20:44:55 packer-plugin-proxmox_v1.2.3_x5.0_windows_amd64.exe plugin: 2025/10/19 20:44:55 [DEBUG] Error getting SSH address: 500 QEMU guest agent is not running
2025/10/19 20:45:03 packer-plugin-proxmox_v1.2.3_x5.0_windows_amd64.exe plugin: 2025/10/19 20:45:03 [DEBUG] Error getting SSH address: 500 QEMU guest agent is not running
2025/10/19 20:45:11 packer-plugin-proxmox_v1.2.3_x5.0_windows_amd64.exe plugin: 2025/10/19 20:45:11 [DEBUG] Error getting SSH address: 500 QEMU guest agent is not running
2025/10/19 20:45:19 packer-plugin-proxmox_v1.2.3_x5.0_windows_amd64.exe plugin: 2025/10/19 20:45:19 [DEBUG] Error getting SSH address: 500 QEMU guest agent is not running
2025/10/19 20:45:27 packer-plugin-proxmox_v1.2.3_x5.0_windows_amd64.exe plugin: 2025/10/19 20:45:27 [DEBUG] Error getting SSH address: 500 QEMU guest agent is not running
2025/10/19 20:45:35 packer-plugin-proxmox_v1.2.3_x5.0_windows_amd64.exe plugin: 2025/10/19 20:45:35 [DEBUG] Error getting SSH address: 500 QEMU guest agent is not running
2025/10/19 20:45:43 packer-plugin-proxmox_v1.2.3_x5.0_windows_amd64.exe plugin: 2025/10/19 20:45:43 [DEBUG] Error getting SSH address: 500 QEMU guest agent is not running
2025/10/19 20:45:51 packer-plugin-proxmox_v1.2.3_x5.0_windows_amd64.exe plugin: 2025/10/19 20:45:51 [DEBUG] Error getting SSH address: 500 QEMU guest agent is not running
2025/10/19 20:45:59 packer-plugin-proxmox_v1.2.3_x5.0_windows_amd64.exe plugin: 2025/10/19 20:45:59 [DEBUG] Error getting SSH address: 500 QEMU guest agent is not running
2025/10/19 20:46:07 packer-plugin-proxmox_v1.2.3_x5.0_windows_amd64.exe plugin: 2025/10/19 20:46:07 [DEBUG] Error getting SSH address: 500 QEMU guest agent is not running
2025/10/19 20:46:15 packer-plugin-proxmox_v1.2.3_x5.0_windows_amd64.exe plugin: 2025/10/19 20:46:15 [DEBUG] Error getting SSH address: 500 QEMU guest agent is not running

[...]

Full packerlog: https://gist.github.com/H4ckersahib/f28eb8c11affc4e4122357bc80a5e752

[H4ckersahib]

One thing I should mention is that I have no prior experience with packer or proxmox. The issue might be that the packer template is entirely wrong, so any advice or help on my packer configuration would be much appreciated!

[tanmay-hc]

@H4ckersahib I have worked on something similar in the past. It could be a problem with your boot_command.
Closing this issue as it is not Packer related.

[github-actions]

I'm going to lock this issue because it has been closed for 30 days ⏳. This helps our maintainers find and focus on the active issues.
If you have found a problem that seems similar to this, please open a new issue and complete the issue template so we can capture all the details necessary to investigate further.