diff --git a/vm/vm-manager.sh b/vm/vm-manager.sh
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..7043a2116
--- /dev/null
+++ b/vm/vm-manager.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,637 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+# Copyright (c) 2021-2025 community-scripts ORG
+# License: MIT | https://github.com/community-scripts/ProxmoxVE/raw/main/LICENSE
+# Universal VM Template Manager - Create, Deploy, List Templates with optional Cloud-Init
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+# ============================================================================
+# OS IMAGE CATALOG
+# ============================================================================
+
+declare -A OS_IMAGES=(
+  # Debian - Cloud-Init enabled
+  ["debian-13"]="https://cloud.debian.org/images/cloud/trixie/latest/debian-13-genericcloud-amd64.qcow2"
+  ["debian-12"]="https://cloud.debian.org/images/cloud/bookworm/latest/debian-12-genericcloud-amd64.qcow2"
+
+  # Debian - NoCloud variants (without cloud-init pre-installed)
+  ["debian-13-nocloud"]="https://cloud.debian.org/images/cloud/trixie/latest/debian-13-nocloud-amd64.qcow2"
+  ["debian-12-nocloud"]="https://cloud.debian.org/images/cloud/bookworm/latest/debian-12-nocloud-amd64.qcow2"
+
+  # Ubuntu - Cloud-Init enabled
+  ["ubuntu-24.04"]="https://cloud-images.ubuntu.com/releases/24.04/release/ubuntu-24.04-server-cloudimg-amd64.img"
+  ["ubuntu-22.04"]="https://cloud-images.ubuntu.com/releases/22.04/release/ubuntu-22.04-server-cloudimg-amd64.img"
+  ["ubuntu-20.04"]="https://cloud-images.ubuntu.com/releases/20.04/release/ubuntu-20.04-server-cloudimg-amd64.img"
+
+  # AlmaLinux
+  ["alma-9"]="https://repo.almalinux.org/almalinux/9/cloud/x86_64/images/AlmaLinux-9-GenericCloud-latest.x86_64.qcow2"
+  ["alma-8"]="https://repo.almalinux.org/almalinux/8/cloud/x86_64/images/AlmaLinux-8-GenericCloud-latest.x86_64.qcow2"
+
+  # Rocky Linux
+  ["rocky-9"]="https://dl.rockylinux.org/pub/rocky/9/images/x86_64/Rocky-9-GenericCloud-Base.latest.x86_64.qcow2"
+  ["rocky-8"]="https://dl.rockylinux.org/pub/rocky/8/images/x86_64/Rocky-8-GenericCloud-Base.latest.x86_64.qcow2"
+
+  # Fedora
+  ["fedora-41"]="https://download.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/releases/41/Cloud/x86_64/images/Fedora-Cloud-Base-Generic-41-1.4.x86_64.qcow2"
+  ["fedora-40"]="https://download.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/releases/40/Cloud/x86_64/images/Fedora-Cloud-Base-Generic-40-1.14.x86_64.qcow2"
+
+  # Arch Linux
+  ["arch"]="https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/images/latest/Arch-Linux-x86_64-cloudimg.qcow2"
+
+  # CentOS Stream
+  ["centos-9"]="https://cloud.centos.org/centos/9-stream/x86_64/images/CentOS-Stream-GenericCloud-9-latest.x86_64.qcow2"
+
+  # Alpine Linux
+  ["alpine-3.20"]="https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/v3.20/releases/cloud/generic_alpine-3.20.0-x86_64-bios-cloudinit-r0.qcow2"
+)
+
+# ============================================================================
+# CONFIGURATION
+# ============================================================================
+
+# Defaults
+MODE=""
+TEMPLATE_PREFIX="template"
+TEMPLATE_ID_START=900
+VMID=""
+OS_KEY=""
+HOSTNAME=""
+CORES=2
+MEMORY=2048
+DISK_SIZE=30
+STORAGE=""
+BRIDGE="vmbr0"
+START_VM="no"
+MACHINE_TYPE="q35"
+
+# Cloud-Init Options
+ENABLE_CLOUDINIT="yes" # yes|no - Enable/disable cloud-init drive
+CI_USER=""
+CI_PASSWORD=""
+CI_SSH_KEY=""
+CI_FILE=""
+
+# Post-Install Scripts
+POST_INSTALL=""          # none|docker|podman|portainer
+POST_INSTALL_TIMEOUT=300 # Timeout in seconds for post-install completion
+
+# Colors
+RED='\033[0;31m'
+GREEN='\033[0;32m'
+YELLOW='\033[1;33m'
+BLUE='\033[0;36m'
+CYAN='\033[0;36m'
+BOLD='\033[1m'
+NC='\033[0m'
+
+# ============================================================================
+# HELPER FUNCTIONS
+# ============================================================================
+
+info() { echo -e "${BLUE}ℹ${NC} $*"; }
+ok() { echo -e "${GREEN}✓${NC} $*"; }
+error() {
+  echo -e "${RED}✗${NC} $*" >&2
+  exit 1
+}
+warn() { echo -e "${YELLOW}⚠${NC} $*"; }
+
+get_next_vmid() {
+  local start_id=${1:-100}
+  local id=$start_id
+  while [ -f "/etc/pve/qemu-server/${id}.conf" ] || [ -f "/etc/pve/lxc/${id}.conf" ]; do
+    id=$((id + 1))
+  done
+  echo "$id"
+}
+
+get_default_storage() {
+  pvesm status -content images 2>/dev/null | awk 'NR==2 {print $1}' || echo "local-lvm"
+}
+
+list_storage_pools() {
+  pvesm status -content images 2>/dev/null | awk 'NR>1 {print $1}'
+}
+
+get_snippet_storage() {
+  pvesm status -content snippets 2>/dev/null | awk 'NR==2 {print $1}' || echo "local"
+}
+
+find_template_by_name() {
+  local name=$1
+  qm list 2>/dev/null | awk -v n="$name" '$2 == n {print $1; exit}'
+}
+
+is_template() {
+  local vmid=$1
+  qm config "$vmid" 2>/dev/null | grep -q "^template: 1"
+}
+
+cleanup_vm() {
+  if [ -n "${VMID:-}" ] && qm status "$VMID" &>/dev/null; then
+    warn "Cleanup: Removing VM $VMID"
+    qm destroy "$VMID" &>/dev/null || true
+  fi
+}
+
+wait_for_vm_ready() {
+  local vmid=$1
+  local timeout=${2:-120}
+  local elapsed=0
+
+  info "Waiting for VM $vmid to be ready..."
+
+  while [ $elapsed -lt $timeout ]; do
+    if qm guest exec $vmid -- test -f /usr/bin/systemctl &>/dev/null; then
+      ok "VM is ready"
+      return 0
+    fi
+    sleep 5
+    elapsed=$((elapsed + 5))
+  done
+
+  warn "VM readiness timeout after ${timeout}s"
+  return 1
+}
+
+run_post_install() {
+  local vmid=$1
+  local script_type=$2
+
+  [ -z "$script_type" ] || [ "$script_type" = "none" ] && return 0
+
+  info "Running post-install: $script_type"
+
+  # Wait for VM to be ready
+  wait_for_vm_ready "$vmid" 180 || {
+    warn "VM not ready, skipping post-install"
+    return 1
+  }
+
+  case "$script_type" in
+  docker)
+    info "Installing Docker..."
+    qm guest exec "$vmid" -- bash -c '
+        curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh && \
+        systemctl enable --now docker && \
+        usermod -aG docker $(whoami) 2>/dev/null || true
+      ' || {
+      warn "Docker installation failed"
+      return 1
+    }
+    ok "Docker installed successfully"
+    ;;
+
+  podman)
+    info "Installing Podman..."
+    qm guest exec "$vmid" -- bash -c '
+        if command -v apt-get &>/dev/null; then
+          apt-get update && apt-get install -y podman
+        elif command -v dnf &>/dev/null; then
+          dnf install -y podman
+        elif command -v yum &>/dev/null; then
+          yum install -y podman
+        else
+          echo "Package manager not supported"
+          exit 1
+        fi && \
+        systemctl enable --now podman || true
+      ' || {
+      warn "Podman installation failed"
+      return 1
+    }
+    ok "Podman installed successfully"
+    ;;
+
+  portainer)
+    info "Installing Portainer (requires Docker)..."
+    # First install Docker
+    run_post_install "$vmid" "docker" || return 1
+
+    info "Deploying Portainer container..."
+    qm guest exec "$vmid" -- bash -c '
+        docker volume create portainer_data && \
+        docker run -d \
+          -p 8000:8000 \
+          -p 9443:9443 \
+          --name portainer \
+          --restart=always \
+          -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
+          -v portainer_data:/data \
+          portainer/portainer-ce:latest
+      ' || {
+      warn "Portainer deployment failed"
+      return 1
+    }
+    ok "Portainer deployed successfully"
+    info "Access Portainer at: https://<vm-ip>:9443"
+    ;;
+
+  *)
+    warn "Unknown post-install script: $script_type"
+    return 1
+    ;;
+  esac
+
+  return 0
+}
+
+# ============================================================================
+# TEMPLATE OPERATIONS
+# ============================================================================
+
+list_templates() {
+  echo -e "\n${BOLD}${CYAN}Available VM Templates:${NC}\n"
+  echo "┌──────┬────────────────────────────┬─────────┬────────┬──────────┬────────────┐"
+  echo "│ VMID │ Name                       │ Cores   │ Memory │ Disk     │ Cloud-Init │"
+  echo "├──────┼────────────────────────────┼─────────┼────────┼──────────┼────────────┤"
+
+  local found=0
+  while IFS= read -r line; do
+    local vmid=$(echo "$line" | awk '{print $1}')
+    local name=$(echo "$line" | awk '{print $2}')
+
+    if is_template "$vmid"; then
+      local config=$(qm config "$vmid" 2>/dev/null)
+      local cores=$(echo "$config" | grep "^cores:" | awk '{print $2}')
+      local memory=$(echo "$config" | grep "^memory:" | awk '{print $2}')
+      local disk=$(echo "$config" | grep "scsi0:" | grep -oP '\d+G' | head -1)
+      local has_ci=$(echo "$config" | grep -q "ide2:.*cloudinit" && echo "Yes" || echo "No")
+
+      printf "│ %-4s │ %-26s │ %-7s │ %-6s │ %-8s │ %-10s │\n" \
+        "$vmid" "$name" "${cores:-N/A}" "${memory:-N/A}MB" "${disk:-N/A}" "$has_ci"
+      found=$((found + 1))
+    fi
+  done < <(qm list 2>/dev/null | tail -n +2)
+
+  echo "└──────┴────────────────────────────┴─────────┴────────┴──────────┴────────────┘"
+
+  if [ $found -eq 0 ]; then
+    echo -e "\n${YELLOW}No templates found.${NC}"
+    echo -e "Create one with: $0 create --os <os-key>\n"
+  else
+    echo -e "\n${GREEN}Total: $found template(s)${NC}\n"
+  fi
+}
+
+list_os_options() {
+  echo -e "\n${BOLD}${CYAN}Available OS Images:${NC}\n"
+  local i=1
+  for key in $(echo "${!OS_IMAGES[@]}" | tr ' ' '\n' | sort); do
+    printf "%2d) %-20s %s\n" $i "$key" "${OS_IMAGES[$key]}"
+    i=$((i + 1))
+  done
+  echo ""
+}
+
+create_template() {
+  # Validate OS
+  [ -z "$OS_KEY" ] && error "OS not specified. Use --os <os-key>"
+  [ -z "${OS_IMAGES[$OS_KEY]:-}" ] && error "Unknown OS: $OS_KEY (use --list-os)"
+
+  local image_url="${OS_IMAGES[$OS_KEY]}"
+  local template_name="${TEMPLATE_PREFIX}-${OS_KEY}"
+
+  # Check if template already exists
+  local existing_id=$(find_template_by_name "$template_name")
+  if [ -n "$existing_id" ]; then
+    warn "Template '$template_name' already exists (ID: $existing_id)"
+    read -p "Overwrite? (y/N): " -n 1 -r
+    echo
+    if [[ ! $REPLY =~ ^[Yy]$ ]]; then
+      info "Aborted"
+      exit 0
+    fi
+    qm destroy "$existing_id" &>/dev/null || true
+  fi
+
+  # Get VM ID
+  [ -z "$VMID" ] && VMID=$(get_next_vmid $TEMPLATE_ID_START)
+  [ -z "$STORAGE" ] && STORAGE=$(get_default_storage)
+
+  info "Creating template: $template_name (ID: $VMID)"
+  [ "$ENABLE_CLOUDINIT" = "yes" ] && info "Cloud-Init: Enabled" || info "Cloud-Init: Disabled"
+
+  # Download/cache image
+  local cache_dir="/var/lib/vz/template/cache"
+  local image_file="$cache_dir/$(basename "$image_url")"
+  mkdir -p "$cache_dir"
+
+  if [ ! -f "$image_file" ]; then
+    info "Downloading image..."
+    curl -fL --progress-bar -o "$image_file" "$image_url" || error "Download failed"
+    ok "Image downloaded"
+  else
+    ok "Using cached image"
+  fi
+
+  # Create VM
+  info "Creating VM shell"
+  qm create "$VMID" \
+    --name "$template_name" \
+    --machine "$MACHINE_TYPE" \
+    --bios ovmf \
+    --cores "$CORES" \
+    --memory "$MEMORY" \
+    --net0 "virtio,bridge=$BRIDGE" \
+    --scsihw virtio-scsi-single \
+    --ostype l26 \
+    --agent enabled=1 \
+    >/dev/null || error "VM creation failed"
+
+  ok "VM shell created"
+
+  # Import disk
+  info "Importing disk"
+  local import_out
+  if command -v "qm" &>/dev/null && qm disk import --help &>/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    import_out=$(qm disk import "$VMID" "$image_file" "$STORAGE" --format qcow2 2>&1 || true)
+  else
+    import_out=$(qm importdisk "$VMID" "$image_file" "$STORAGE" 2>&1 || true)
+  fi
+
+  local disk_ref=$(echo "$import_out" | grep -oP "vm-$VMID-disk-\d+" | head -1)
+  [ -z "$disk_ref" ] && disk_ref=$(pvesm list "$STORAGE" | awk -v id="$VMID" '$5 ~ ("vm-"id"-disk-") {print $5}' | sort | tail -n1)
+  [ -z "$disk_ref" ] && error "Disk import failed"
+
+  ok "Disk imported: $disk_ref"
+
+  # Configure disks
+  info "Configuring disks"
+  if [ "$ENABLE_CLOUDINIT" = "yes" ]; then
+    qm set "$VMID" \
+      --scsi0 "${STORAGE}:${disk_ref},discard=on" \
+      --boot order=scsi0 \
+      --ide2 "${STORAGE}:cloudinit" \
+      >/dev/null || error "Disk configuration failed"
+  else
+    qm set "$VMID" \
+      --scsi0 "${STORAGE}:${disk_ref},discard=on" \
+      --boot order=scsi0 \
+      >/dev/null || error "Disk configuration failed"
+  fi
+
+  # Resize disk
+  qm resize "$VMID" scsi0 "${DISK_SIZE}G" >/dev/null 2>&1 || warn "Disk resize failed"
+  ok "Disk configured (${DISK_SIZE}G)"
+
+  # Cloud-Init configuration
+  if [ "$ENABLE_CLOUDINIT" = "yes" ]; then
+    if [ -n "$CI_USER" ] && [ -n "$CI_SSH_KEY" ]; then
+      info "Configuring Cloud-Init credentials"
+      qm set "$VMID" --ciuser "$CI_USER" >/dev/null
+      qm set "$VMID" --sshkeys <(echo "$CI_SSH_KEY") >/dev/null
+      [ -n "$CI_PASSWORD" ] && qm set "$VMID" --cipassword "$CI_PASSWORD" >/dev/null
+      ok "Cloud-Init configured"
+    else
+      info "Cloud-Init drive created (configure after deployment)"
+    fi
+  fi
+
+  # Convert to template
+  info "Converting to template"
+  qm template "$VMID" >/dev/null || error "Template conversion failed"
+
+  ok "Template created successfully!"
+  echo ""
+  echo "  Template ID:   $VMID"
+  echo "  Template Name: $template_name"
+  echo "  OS:            $OS_KEY"
+  echo "  Cloud-Init:    $ENABLE_CLOUDINIT"
+  echo ""
+}
+
+deploy_from_template() {
+  local template_name="${TEMPLATE_PREFIX}-${OS_KEY}"
+  local template_id=$(find_template_by_name "$template_name")
+
+  [ -z "$template_id" ] && error "Template '$template_name' not found"
+
+  if ! is_template "$template_id"; then
+    error "VM $template_id is not a template"
+  fi
+
+  [ -z "$VMID" ] && VMID=$(get_next_vmid)
+  [ -z "$HOSTNAME" ] && HOSTNAME="${OS_KEY}-vm-${VMID}"
+
+  info "Cloning template $template_id -> VM $VMID ($HOSTNAME)"
+
+  # Full clone
+  qm clone "$template_id" "$VMID" --name "$HOSTNAME" --full 1 >/dev/null || error "Clone failed"
+  ok "VM cloned"
+
+  # Reconfigure network (remove MAC to get new one)
+  qm set "$VMID" --delete net0 >/dev/null
+  qm set "$VMID" --net0 "virtio,bridge=$BRIDGE" >/dev/null
+  ok "Network reconfigured"
+
+  # Resize if different from template
+  local template_size=$(qm config "$template_id" | grep "scsi0:" | grep -oP '\d+G' | head -1)
+  template_size=${template_size%G}
+  if [ "$DISK_SIZE" -gt "$template_size" ]; then
+    local diff=$((DISK_SIZE - template_size))
+    info "Expanding disk by ${diff}G"
+    qm resize "$VMID" scsi0 "+${diff}G" >/dev/null 2>&1 || warn "Resize failed"
+  fi
+
+  # Start VM if requested or if post-install is needed
+  local need_start="no"
+  [ "$START_VM" = "yes" ] && need_start="yes"
+  [ -n "$POST_INSTALL" ] && [ "$POST_INSTALL" != "none" ] && need_start="yes"
+
+  if [ "$need_start" = "yes" ]; then
+    info "Starting VM"
+    qm start "$VMID" || { warn "Start failed"; }
+    ok "VM started"
+  fi
+
+  # Execute post-install scripts if specified
+  if [ -n "$POST_INSTALL" ] && [ "$POST_INSTALL" != "none" ]; then
+    if run_post_install "$VMID" "$POST_INSTALL"; then
+      ok "Post-install completed: $POST_INSTALL"
+    else
+      warn "Post-install had issues, but VM is deployed"
+    fi
+  fi
+
+  ok "VM deployed successfully!"
+  echo ""
+  echo "  VM ID:      $VMID"
+  echo "  Hostname:   $HOSTNAME"
+  echo "  Template:   $template_name (ID: $template_id)"
+  [ -n "$POST_INSTALL" ] && [ "$POST_INSTALL" != "none" ] && echo "  Post-Install: $POST_INSTALL"
+  echo ""
+}
+
+# ============================================================================
+# USAGE
+# ============================================================================
+
+usage() {
+  cat <<EOF
+${BOLD}Usage:${NC} $0 <COMMAND> [OPTIONS]
+
+${BOLD}Commands:${NC}
+    create              Create a new VM template
+    deploy              Deploy VM from template
+    list                List all templates
+    list-os             Show available OS images
+
+${BOLD}Options:${NC}
+    --os KEY            OS from catalog (e.g. debian-12, ubuntu-24.04)
+                        Use -nocloud suffix for images without cloud-init
+    --vmid ID           VM/Template ID (auto-assigned if not specified)
+    --hostname NAME     Hostname for deployed VM
+    --cores NUM         CPU cores (default: $CORES)
+    --memory MB         RAM in MB (default: $MEMORY)
+    --disk GB           Disk size in GB (default: $DISK_SIZE)
+    --storage NAME      Storage pool
+    --bridge NAME       Network bridge (default: $BRIDGE)
+    --start             Start VM after deployment
+    --no-cloudinit      Disable cloud-init drive (default: enabled)
+
+    ${BOLD}Cloud-Init:${NC}
+    --ci-user USER      Cloud-Init username
+    --ci-password PASS  Cloud-Init password
+    --ci-ssh-key KEY    SSH public key
+
+    ${BOLD}Post-Install:${NC}
+    --post-install PKG  Install software after first boot
+                        Options: docker, podman, portainer
+                        Note: Requires cloud-init + SSH access
+
+${BOLD}Examples:${NC}
+    ${BOLD}# Create templates${NC}
+    $0 create --os debian-12
+    $0 create --os debian-12-nocloud --no-cloudinit
+    $0 create --os ubuntu-24.04 --cores 4 --memory 4096
+    $0 create --os debian-12 --ci-user admin --ci-ssh-key "ssh-rsa AAA..."
+
+    ${BOLD}# Deploy VMs${NC}
+    $0 deploy --os debian-12 --hostname webserver --start
+    $0 deploy --os ubuntu-24.04 --hostname docker-host --post-install docker
+    $0 deploy --os debian-12 --hostname portainer --post-install portainer --start
+    $0 deploy --os rocky-9 --hostname podman-host --post-install podman --disk 100
+
+    ${BOLD}# List resources${NC}
+    $0 list
+    $0 list-os
+
+${BOLD}Post-Install Details:${NC}
+    docker      - Installs Docker CE via get.docker.com
+    podman      - Installs Podman via system package manager
+    portainer   - Installs Docker + Portainer CE container
+                  Access at https://<vm-ip>:9443
+
+${BOLD}NoCloud Images:${NC}
+    NoCloud variants (e.g., debian-12-nocloud) are minimal images
+    without cloud-init pre-installed. Use --no-cloudinit with these.
+
+EOF
+  exit 0
+}
+
+# ============================================================================
+# ARGUMENT PARSING
+# ============================================================================
+
+[ $# -eq 0 ] && usage
+
+MODE="$1"
+shift
+
+while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
+  case "$1" in
+  --os)
+    OS_KEY="$2"
+    shift 2
+    ;;
+  --vmid)
+    VMID="$2"
+    shift 2
+    ;;
+  --hostname)
+    HOSTNAME="$2"
+    shift 2
+    ;;
+  --cores)
+    CORES="$2"
+    shift 2
+    ;;
+  --memory)
+    MEMORY="$2"
+    shift 2
+    ;;
+  --disk)
+    DISK_SIZE="$2"
+    shift 2
+    ;;
+  --storage)
+    STORAGE="$2"
+    shift 2
+    ;;
+  --bridge)
+    BRIDGE="$2"
+    shift 2
+    ;;
+  --start)
+    START_VM="yes"
+    shift
+    ;;
+  --no-cloudinit)
+    ENABLE_CLOUDINIT="no"
+    shift
+    ;;
+  --ci-user)
+    CI_USER="$2"
+    shift 2
+    ;;
+  --ci-password)
+    CI_PASSWORD="$2"
+    shift 2
+    ;;
+  --ci-ssh-key)
+    CI_SSH_KEY="$2"
+    shift 2
+    ;;
+  --post-install)
+    POST_INSTALL="$2"
+    shift 2
+    ;;
+  -h | --help) usage ;;
+  *) error "Unknown option: $1 (use --help)" ;;
+  esac
+done
+
+# ============================================================================
+# CHECKS
+# ============================================================================
+
+[ "$(id -u)" -ne 0 ] && error "Root privileges required"
+command -v qm >/dev/null 2>&1 || error "qm not found - Is Proxmox VE installed?"
+command -v pvesm >/dev/null 2>&1 || error "pvesm not found"
+
+# ============================================================================
+# MAIN
+# ============================================================================
+
+trap cleanup_vm EXIT
+
+case "$MODE" in
+create)
+  create_template
+  ;;
+deploy)
+  deploy_from_template
+  ;;
+list)
+  list_templates
+  ;;
+list-os)
+  list_os_options
+  ;;
+*)
+  error "Unknown command: $MODE (use --help)"
+  ;;
+esac