---
title: 'Getting Started With OpenStack'
---

import { VersionBadge } from "/snippets/version-badge.mdx"

Prowler supports OpenStack both from the CLI and from Prowler Cloud. This guide walks you through the requirements, how to connect the provider in the UI, and how to run scans from the command line.

<Note>
Prowler currently supports **public cloud OpenStack providers** (OVH, Infomaniak, Vexxhost, etc.). Support for self-deployed OpenStack environments is not yet available, if you are interested in this feature, please [open an issue](https://github.com/prowler-cloud/prowler/issues/new) or [contact us](https://prowler.com/contact).
</Note>

## Prerequisites

Before running Prowler with the OpenStack provider, ensure you have:

1. An OpenStack public cloud account with at least one project
2. Access to the Horizon dashboard or provider control panel
3. An OpenStack user with the **Reader** role assigned to your project (see detailed instructions in the [Authentication guide](/user-guide/providers/openstack/authentication#creating-a-user-with-reader-role))
4. Access to Prowler CLI (see [Installation](/getting-started/installation/prowler-cli)) or an account created in [Prowler Cloud](https://cloud.prowler.com)

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Prowler Cloud" icon="cloud" href="#prowler-cloud">
    Onboard OpenStack using Prowler Cloud
  </Card>
  <Card title="Prowler CLI" icon="terminal" href="#prowler-cli">
    Onboard OpenStack using Prowler CLI
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Prowler Cloud

<VersionBadge version="5.19.0" />

### Step 1: Add the Provider

1. Navigate to "Providers" and click "Add Provider".
   ![Providers List](./images/select-provider.png)
2. Select "OpenStack" from the provider list.
3. Enter the "Project ID" from the OpenStack provider.
   ![Add project ID form](./images/add-provider-id.png)
4. (Optional) Add a friendly alias to identify this project in dashboards.

### Step 2: Provide Credentials

1. Click "Next" to open the credentials form.
2. Paste the full content of the `clouds.yaml` file into the "Clouds YAML Content" field. This file is available in the OpenStack provider's Horizon dashboard (see the [Authentication guide](/user-guide/providers/openstack/authentication) for detailed instructions).
3. Enter the "Cloud Name" — this is the key that identifies the cloud entry inside the `clouds.yaml` file (e.g., `mycloud`).
   ![Credentials form](./images/add-credentials.png)

### Step 3: Test the Connection and Start Scanning

1. Click "Test connection" to ensure Prowler Cloud can reach the OpenStack API.
   ![Test connection](./images/test-connection.png)
2. The provider will appear in the list with its current connection status.
3. Launch a scan from the provider row or from the "Scans" page.

---

## Prowler CLI

<VersionBadge version="5.18.0" />

### Step 1: Set Up Authentication

Download the `clouds.yaml` file from your OpenStack provider (see [Authentication guide](/user-guide/providers/openstack/authentication) for detailed instructions) and save it to `~/.config/openstack/clouds.yaml`:

```bash
# Create the directory
mkdir -p ~/.config/openstack

# Move the downloaded file
mv ~/Downloads/clouds.yaml ~/.config/openstack/clouds.yaml

# Set secure permissions
chmod 600 ~/.config/openstack/clouds.yaml
```

Prowler supports multiple authentication methods:

**Option 1: Using clouds.yaml (Recommended)**

```bash
# Default location (~/.config/openstack/clouds.yaml)
prowler openstack --clouds-yaml-cloud openstack

# Custom location
prowler openstack --clouds-yaml-file /path/to/clouds.yaml --clouds-yaml-cloud openstack
```

**Option 2: Using Environment Variables**

```bash
export OS_AUTH_URL=https://auth.example.com:5000/v3
export OS_USERNAME=user-xxxxxxxxxx
export OS_PASSWORD=your-password
export OS_PROJECT_ID=your-project-id
export OS_USER_DOMAIN_NAME=Default
export OS_PROJECT_DOMAIN_NAME=Default
export OS_IDENTITY_API_VERSION=3

prowler openstack
```

**Option 3: Using Flags (CLI Arguments)**

```bash
prowler openstack \
  --os-auth-url https://auth.example.com:5000/v3 \
  --os-username user-xxxxxxxxxx \
  --os-password your-password \
  --os-project-id your-project-id \
  --os-user-domain-name Default \
  --os-project-domain-name Default \
  --os-identity-api-version 3
```

<Note>
For detailed step-by-step instructions with screenshots, see the [OpenStack Authentication guide](/user-guide/providers/openstack/authentication).
</Note>

### Step 2: Run Your First Scan

Run a baseline scan of your OpenStack cloud:

```bash
prowler openstack --clouds-yaml-cloud openstack
```

Replace `openstack` with the custom cloud name defined in the `clouds.yaml` file (e.g., `ovh-production`).

Prowler will automatically discover and audit all supported OpenStack services in your project.

**Scan a specific OpenStack service:**

```bash
# Audit only compute (Nova) resources
prowler openstack --services compute

# Audit only networking (Neutron) resources
prowler openstack --services network

# Audit only identity (Keystone) resources
prowler openstack --services identity
```

**Run specific security checks:**

```bash
# Execute specific checks by name
prowler openstack --checks compute_instance_public_ip_associated

# List all available checks
prowler openstack --list-checks
```

**Filter by check severity:**

```bash
# Run only high or critical severity checks
prowler openstack --severity critical high
```

**Generate specific output formats:**

```bash
# JSON only
prowler openstack --output-modes json

# CSV and HTML
prowler openstack --output-modes csv html

# All formats
prowler openstack --output-modes csv json html json-asff

# Custom output directory
prowler openstack --output-directory /path/to/reports/
```

**Scan multiple OpenStack clouds:**

Configure `clouds.yaml` with multiple cloud configurations:

```yaml
clouds:
  production:
    auth:
      auth_url: https://prod.example.com:5000/v3
      username: prod-user
      password: prod-password
      project_id: prod-project-id
    region_name: RegionOne
    identity_api_version: "3"

  staging:
    auth:
      auth_url: https://staging.example.com:5000/v3
      username: staging-user
      password: staging-password
      project_id: staging-project-id
    region_name: RegionOne
    identity_api_version: "3"
```

Run audits against each environment:

```bash
prowler openstack --clouds-yaml-cloud production --output-directory ./reports/production/
prowler openstack --clouds-yaml-cloud staging --output-directory ./reports/staging/
```

**Scan all regions in a single run:**

If your OpenStack project spans multiple regions, replace `region_name` with a `regions` list in your `clouds.yaml`:

```yaml
clouds:
  ovh-multiregion:
    auth:
      auth_url: https://auth.cloud.ovh.net/v3
      username: user-xxxxxxxxxx
      password: your-password-here
      project_id: your-project-id
      user_domain_name: Default
      project_domain_name: Default
    regions:
      - UK1
      - DE1
    identity_api_version: "3"
```

```bash
prowler openstack --clouds-yaml-cloud ovh-multiregion
```

Prowler will connect to each region and scan resources across all of them. See the [Authentication guide](/user-guide/providers/openstack/authentication#multi-region-scanning) for more details.

<Note>
You must use either `region_name` (single region) or `regions` (multi-region list), not both.
</Note>

**Use mutelist to suppress findings:**

Create a mutelist file to suppress known findings:

```yaml
# mutelist.yaml
Mutelist:
  Accounts:
    "*":
      Checks:
        compute_instance_public_ip_associated:
          Resources:
            - "instance-id-1"
            - "instance-id-2"
          Reason: "Public IPs required for web servers"
```

Run with mutelist:

```bash
prowler openstack --mutelist-file mutelist.yaml
```

### Step 3: Review the Results

Prowler outputs findings to the console and generates reports in multiple formats.

By default, Prowler generates reports in the `output/` directory:
- CSV format: `output/prowler-output-{timestamp}.csv`
- JSON format: `output/prowler-output-{timestamp}.json`
- HTML dashboard: `output/prowler-output-{timestamp}.html`

## Supported OpenStack Services

Prowler currently supports security checks for the following OpenStack services:

| Common Name | OpenStack Service | Description | Example Checks |
|-------------|-------------------|-------------|----------------|
| **Compute** | Nova | Virtual machine instances | Public IP associations, security group usage |
| **Networking** | Neutron | Virtual networks and security | Security group rules, network isolation |
| **Identity** | Keystone | Authentication and authorization | Password policies, MFA configuration |
| **Image** | Glance | Virtual machine images | Image visibility, image encryption |
| **Block Storage** | Cinder | Persistent block storage | Volume encryption, backup policies |
| **Object Storage** | Swift | Object storage service | Container ACLs, public access |

<Note>
Support for additional OpenStack services will be added in future releases. Check the [release notes](https://github.com/prowler-cloud/prowler/releases) for updates.
</Note>

## Troubleshooting

### Authentication Errors

If encountering authentication errors:

1. Verify credentials are correct:
   ```bash
   # Test OpenStack CLI with the same credentials
   openstack --os-cloud openstack server list
   ```

2. Check network connectivity to the authentication endpoint:
   ```bash
   curl https://openstack.example.com:5000/v3
   ```

3. Verify the Identity API version is v3:
   ```bash
   echo $OS_IDENTITY_API_VERSION
   # Should output: 3
   ```

For detailed troubleshooting, see the [Authentication guide](/user-guide/providers/openstack/authentication#troubleshooting).

### Permission Errors

If checks are failing due to insufficient permissions:

- Ensure your OpenStack user has the **Reader** role assigned to the project
- Check role assignments in your provider's control panel or Horizon dashboard
- Verify that your user has access to all required services (Compute, Networking, Identity, etc.)
- Contact your OpenStack provider support if you need additional permissions

### Keystone/Identity Service Limitations

<Warning>
Public cloud OpenStack providers (OVH, Infomaniak, Vexxhost, etc.) typically **do not expose** the Keystone/Identity service API to customers for security reasons. This means that Identity-related security checks may not be available or may return limited information.

This is expected behavior, not an error. This limitation explains why those checks are not currently available in Prowler.
</Warning>

If you see errors related to the Identity service:

- This is expected behavior for public cloud providers
- Identity-related checks will be added for self-deployed OpenStack environments in future releases
- Focus on other available services (Compute, Networking, Storage, etc.)

## OpenStack Additional Resources

- **Supported OpenStack versions**: Stein (2019.1) and later
- **Minimum Identity API version**: v3
- **Tested providers**: OVH Public Cloud, OpenStack-Ansible, DevStack
- **Cloud compatibility**: Fully compatible with standard OpenStack APIs
