Ask before replacing a cached image that no longer matches

[MickLesk]

✍️ Description

Debian rebuilds its cloud images every week or two and keeps the filename, so the cached copy stops matching the published checksum and several hundred MB were re-fetched without asking. Usually that is right, but not always worth the wait.

The prompt now names both sides — size and date, cached and upstream — so the choice is informed. Keeping the cached copy uses it as it is; taking the new one removes it first. Unattended runs, or a session without a terminal, download as before.

  File:     debian-13-nocloud-amd64.qcow2
  Cached:   668M, 2026-09-17 13:30
  Upstream: 391M, Mon, 14 Sep 2026 14:46:26 GMT

✅ Prerequisites (X in brackets)

• Self-review completed – Code follows project standards.
• Tested thoroughly – Changes work as expected (Proxmox VE and/or Incus, as applicable).
• No security risks – No hardcoded secrets, unnecessary privilege escalations, or permission issues.
• API.txt regenerated – If a function signature or behavior changed, API.txt was updated to match.

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🤖 AI Assistance (X in brackets)

• No AI used – Code was written without AI assistance.
• AI was used – The output has been reviewed and corrected, and I take responsibility for it matching this repo's conventions.

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🛠️ Type of Change (X in brackets)

• 🐞 Bug fix – Resolves an issue without breaking functionality.
• ✨ New feature – Adds new, non-breaking functionality.
• 💥 Breaking change – Alters existing behavior in a way that may require updates in every downstream script.
• 🔧 Refactoring / Code Cleanup – Improves readability or maintainability without changing functionality.
• 📝 Documentation update – Changes to README, docs/, CONTRIBUTING.md, or other docs.

[github-actions]

Try this branch

The engine and the scripts resolve independently, so a production script can
be run against the engine from this PR by setting one variable:

COMMUNITY_SCRIPTS_CORE_URL=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/community-scripts/core/feat/cache-choice \
bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/community-scripts/ProxmoxVED/main/ct/debian.sh)"

Swap ct/debian.sh for whatever exercises the change.

This PR touches pve/, so it needs a Proxmox VE host.

Run a script from a fork as well

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/community-scripts/core/feat/cache-choice/tools/run.sh |
  bash -s -- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/YOU/ProxmoxVED/your-branch ct/debian.sh \
             https://raw.githubusercontent.com/community-scripts/core/feat/cache-choice

Note that run.sh is reached through a pipe, so the script it starts inherits
an exhausted stdin. Whiptail is fine — it opens /dev/tty — but a plain read
would see EOF. The single-variable form above does not have that problem.

Useful flags while testing

dev_mode=net logs every engine fetch with status and duration, which is the
quickest way to confirm the branch is really being used. dev_mode=keep stops a
failed build from deleting the container along with the evidence.