API Access from the Command Line Interface (CLI) and with Code¶

In addition to the Web Interface, OpenStack resources can be managed via the command line and with programming languages like Python.

This is ideal for automation, scripting, or integrating OpenStack with other tools.

Set your environment variables¶

To set up your CLI environment, download an OpenStack RC file for your project from the Web Interface: go to API Access > Download OpenStack RC file > OpenStack RC file.

To import these variables into your shell environment, run the following command and enter your OpenStack password when prompted.

source /path/to/downloaded/projectname-openrc.sh

This approach keeps your credentials out of your code and leverages the environment variables set by the RC file.

Unset your environment variables¶

Once you are done, it is good practice to either close the terminal or manually unset the environment variables used to authenticate to the OpenStack API.

unset OS_AUTH_URL OS_PROJECT_NAME OS_USERNAME OS_PASSWORD OS_REGION_NAME OS_USER_DOMAIN_NAME OS_PROJECT_DOMAIN_NAME

Using the OpenStack CLI¶

The python-openstackclient CLI tools provide full access to most OpenStack services from your terminal. You can launch instances, manage volumes, configure networks, and more.

Installation of CLI tools¶

python3 -m pip install python-openstackclient

Example CLI commands¶

Once your CLI environment is authenticated, try a simple command:

openstack server list

📚 Full command list: CLI Reference

Using the Python SDK¶

You can manage OpenStack resources programmatically with Python using the openstacksdk package.

Installation of Python SDK¶

python3 -m pip install openstacksdk

📚 Full documentation: OpenStack SDK

Example Python script¶

Below is an example Python script that lists your project's servers, their status and their flavor using the OpenStack SDK.

Similar to the OpenStack CLI, download and source your project's authentication environment variables.

import openstack

conn = openstack.connect() # uses your variables set from project-openrc.sh

print(f"{'Name':<25} {'Status':<20} {'Flavor':<20}")
print("-" * 65)

for server in conn.compute.servers():
    flavor = (
        server.flavor["original_name"]
        if server.flavor.get("original_name")
        else server.flavor["id"]
    )
    print(f"{server.name:<25} {server.status:<20} {flavor:<20}")