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115 changes: 115 additions & 0 deletions docs/openstack/share_image.md
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# Share an Image in Openstack

You can share an image from your project with a collaborator in a different project in OpenStack cloud so you can both launch instances using the same image. As the owner of the image, you can revoke the sharing privilege at any time. You can also use these methods to share an image with yourself in other projects, just think of yourself as the collaborator.

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@jprorama jprorama Dec 10, 2025

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Let's list the different types of state "private, shared, community, public" and provide some guidance on what they mean. Eg. All images are private by default. Public are available to any user on openstack, typically reserved for base OS images. Submit a support request to make an image public. To share images across projects you can use either set an image to either shared or community. A shared image requires that you explicitly specify which projects get access. This typ e of sharing is easier to manage using the openstack cli. A community image will be available to other projects but won't be listed among the default images in the UI. The community image is convenient but should not be used if you have any private credentials on an image (eg. a DB user/password).

Let's add a section on how to set the sharing in the UI and how you can use community images during instance creation in the Dashboard.

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I might be missing something because of how my account is set up but I don't think there is anything different to do to use a community image versus a public/private one in instance setup. They just show in the list with the others
image

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@wwarriner wwarriner Dec 10, 2025

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Including a screenshot like this will help readers build a mental model that matches your description. Highlight the relevant entry or entries using a red box.

Remember that some readers have low or no vision. Explicitly describe in the introductory text what you intend to show in the image so screen readers can make the (salient) image content perceivable.

Images also need alt text which describes what is in the image (as opposed to what the image shows).

Body text description might be like the following.

The image below shows an example of how VM disk images are tabulated in the OpenStack Horizon dashboard. Shared images are denoted with the text "Shared" in the XXX column. In the image, the shared images have been enclosed in a red box.

Alt text might be like the following.

![List of VM disk images in Horizon dashboard.](images/image.png)

Tools I use:

## Image Visibility Descriptions

| Visibility | Description |
| ---------- | ----------- |
| public | Any user may read the image and its data payload. Additionally, the image appears in the default image list of all users. **If you need your image to be public level, it will require a support request** |
| community | Any user may read the image and its data payload, but the image does not appear in the default image list of any user other than the owner. |
| shared | Only the owner and the specific image members who have been added to the image may read the image or its data payload. The image appears in the default image list of the owner. It also appears in the default image list of members who have accepted the image. Non-owners, however, will not have access to the image until they are added as image members. |
| private (**default**) | Only the owner image may read the image or its data payload. Additionally, the image appears in the owner’s default image list. |

## Prerequisites

- Set up the OpenStack CLI to work with the project where the image to be shared is located.

```shell
python3 -m venv openstackclient-env
source openstackclient-env/bin/activate
pip install --upgrade pip
pip install python-openstackclient
```

- Source the openrc file from your openstack project. You can download it from your openstack project's dashboard by clicking on the project name in the top right. Click on the Openstack RC file from the drop down to download it.

```shell
# Source your openrc file
source <PATH_TO_YOUR_OPENRC_FILE>
```

- Find the ID of the target project you want to share the image with.

```shell
# This runs on the receiver
openstack project list
```

The ID can also be found via the OpenStack UI.

## Share an Image With Another Project

1. Find the image ID you want to share.

```shell
openstack image list
```

1. Set the image visibility to shared.

```shell
openstack image set --shared <IMAGE_NAME_OR_ID>
```

1. Share the image with the target project.

```shell
openstack image add project <IMAGE_NAME_OR_ID> <TARGET_PROJECT_ID>
```

## Accept a Shared Image

- Source the Target Project's Credentials. The user in the target project needs to source the appropriate OpenStack credentials for their project.
- Accept the Shared Image. The target project user then accepts the shared image using its ID:

```sh
# Run this on receiver's end
openstack image set --accept <IMAGE_NAME_OR_ID>
```

Upon acceptance, the image will appear in the target project's image list.

## Unshare an Image (Optional)

If you would like to revoke a project's access to an image, you can do the following

- The image owner can see which projects have access to the image.

```shell
openstack image member list <IMAGE_NAME_OR_ID>
```

- The owner can unshare an image like this.

```shell
openstack image remove project <IMAGE_NAME_OR_ID> <TARGET_PROJECT_ID>
```

## Share an Image With the Community (Optional)

You can also share an image with a community of users.

- To share an image with the community you need to set the visibility like this.

```shell
openstack image set --visibility community <IMAGE_NAME_OR_ID>
```

Community images do not appear in the default image lists.

- To list an image shared to the community.

```shell
openstack image list --community
```

## Share an Image Using OpensStack UI

- In the [web interface](https://cloud.rc.uab.edu) you will navigate the dropdown to Compute then select Images. ![compute dropdown showing the selected images tab](image-1.png)

- From here locate the image you would like to share and locate the dropdown labeled `Launch` and click in to the dropdown menu there. ![image showing the Launch button and dropdown arrow](image-2.png)

- In the dropdown menu select `Edit Image` and then in the popup you will be given the choice to change the visibility. ![visibility levels in openstack edit menu](image.png)

If you need to withdraw a community image, you can change its visibility back to "private" or delete it.
1 change: 1 addition & 0 deletions mkdocs.yml
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Expand Up @@ -79,6 +79,7 @@ nav:
- Openstack:
- VM Migration: openstack/vm_migration.md
- VM Service Setup: service/service_setup.md
- Share Openstack Image: openstack/share_image.md

validation:
nav:
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