From 6786e67c809450926ef4f5a4c54afdb4c11e73a5 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Roberto Bertó <463349+robertoberto@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Tue, 19 May 2026 07:01:10 +0000
Subject: docs: cross-reference packer-vyos as related project
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Add a "Related projects" section in the main README pointing to
vyos-contrib/packer-vyos, the Packer-based image builder that
produces ready-to-deploy VyOS images. The two projects are
complementary: packer-vyos builds the appliance, pyvyos drives it.

Also mention packer-vyos in tests/pve/README.md as an alternative
to the interactive install in phase 1 of the e2e harness — without
making the harness depend on it.

This commit is documentation only. It does not change pyvyos
behaviour, payloads, or public API.
---
 README.md           |  7 +++++++
 tests/pve/README.md | 11 +++++++++++
 2 files changed, 18 insertions(+)

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 1f9ce19..8686caa 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -255,6 +255,13 @@ local Proxmox host and runs `tests/e2e` against the real HTTPS API.
 It is not part of the default GitHub Actions workflow. See the
 harness README for setup.
 
+## Related projects
+
+- [`vyos-contrib/packer-vyos`](https://github.com/vyos-contrib/packer-vyos)
+  — Packer builder that produces ready-to-deploy VyOS images for QEMU,
+  Proxmox, AWS, and other targets. Complementary to `pyvyos`: build the
+  image with `packer-vyos`, then drive it from Python with `pyvyos`.
+
 ## Contributing
 
 Bug reports and pull requests are welcome. Please open an issue first to
diff --git a/tests/pve/README.md b/tests/pve/README.md
index b84ad05..f780475 100644
--- a/tests/pve/README.md
+++ b/tests/pve/README.md
@@ -75,6 +75,17 @@ tests/pve/ensure-template.sh  # phase 2: cloud-init applies API key,
 The script is a state machine on the VMID, so re-running it from any
 point is safe.
 
+### Alternative: prebuilt images with packer-vyos
+
+If you would rather skip the interactive install entirely, you can
+build a ready-to-clone VyOS image with
+[`vyos-contrib/packer-vyos`](https://github.com/vyos-contrib/packer-vyos)
+and import it on the PVE host instead of running phase 1 here. The
+harness scripts still work — you just point `VYOS_TEMPLATE_VMID` at
+the imported image. This harness keeps the install path because it
+has no extra dependencies; `packer-vyos` is a more capable option if
+you want repeatable image builds.
+
 ## Per-run workflow
 
 ```bash
-- 
cgit v1.2.3