OpenStack Glance Client Library

4.11.0 · active · verified Wed Apr 15

python-glanceclient is a client library for OpenStack Glance, the Image service, built on the Glance API. It provides a Python API for interacting with Glance and a command-line tool (`glance`). The current stable version is 4.11.0, and it follows the OpenStack release cadence, typically releasing new versions every six months to align with OpenStack's development cycle.

Warnings

breaking The `glanceclient.client.Client()` constructor defaults to Glance API version 2 (v2) since `python-glanceclient` version 2.0.0. Older applications that implicitly relied on v1 might break or misbehave.
Fix: Explicitly pass the desired API version as the first argument, e.g., `glance_client.Client('1', session=sess)` for v1, or `glance_client.Client('2', session=sess)` for v2. It's recommended to upgrade to v2 where possible.
gotcha While `python-glanceclient` is actively maintained, for new OpenStack-related development, consider using the higher-level `openstacksdk` library. It provides a more unified and consistent API across various OpenStack services.
Fix: Explore `openstacksdk`'s documentation for its Glance module. For existing `glanceclient` code, continue using this library, as it remains a valid and supported option.
gotcha Direct authentication by passing username/password arguments to client constructors is discouraged for production environments due to security and flexibility concerns. The recommended approach is to use `keystoneauth1` sessions.
Fix: Always construct a `keystoneauth1.session.Session` object with an appropriate `keystoneauth1.identity` plugin (e.g., `v3.Password`, `v3.Token`) and pass this session to the `glanceclient.client.Client()` constructor via the `session` keyword argument.

Install

pip install python-glanceclient Install latest stable

Imports

Client
wrong:
```
from glanceclient.v2 import client
```
correct:
```
from glanceclient import client as glance_client
```
While specific API versions existed in direct imports in older libraries, the recommended pattern for `python-glanceclient` is to import the generic `client` module and instantiate `glance_client.Client('2', ...)`.

Quickstart

This quickstart demonstrates how to authenticate with OpenStack Keystone using environment variables and then initialize the Glance client to list available images. It uses API version 2, which is the default for recent Glance client versions. Make sure your OpenStack environment variables (e.g., `OS_AUTH_URL`, `OS_USERNAME`, `OS_PASSWORD`, `OS_PROJECT_NAME`) are set.

import os
from keystoneauth1.identity import v3
from keystoneauth1 import session
from glanceclient import client as glance_client

# --- Authentication --- 
# Ensure OpenStack environment variables are set (e.g., OS_AUTH_URL, OS_USERNAME, OS_PASSWORD, etc.)
# You can also pass credentials directly, but environment variables are recommended.
auth = v3.Password(
    auth_url=os.environ.get('OS_AUTH_URL', 'http://localhost:5000/v3'),
    username=os.environ.get('OS_USERNAME', 'admin'),
    password=os.environ.get('OS_PASSWORD', 'password'),
    project_name=os.environ.get('OS_PROJECT_NAME', 'admin'),
    user_domain_name=os.environ.get('OS_USER_DOMAIN_NAME', 'Default'),
    project_domain_name=os.environ.get('OS_PROJECT_DOMAIN_NAME', 'Default')
)
sess = session.Session(auth=auth)

# --- Initialize Glance Client (API v2 recommended) ---
glance = glance_client.Client('2', session=sess)

# --- List Images ---
try:
    print("\nAvailable Glance Images:")
    images = glance.images.list()
    if images:
        for image in images:
            print(f"  ID: {image.id}, Name: {image.name}, Status: {image.status}, Visibility: {getattr(image, 'visibility', 'unknown')}")
    else:
        print("  No images found.")
except Exception as e:
    print(f"Error connecting to Glance or listing images: {e}")

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