---
id: python-cinderclient
version: "9.9.0"
license: Apache-2.0
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# python-cinderclient — OpenStack Block Storage API Client Library

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 533.6K/mo

## What it is and what it does

python-cinderclient is the official Python client library for OpenStack Cinder, the block storage service. It provides both a programmatic API (the cinderclient module) and a command-line tool (cinder command) for managing volumes, backups, snapshots, consistency groups, and related storage operations on OpenStack clouds. The library handles authentication via keystoneauth1 and integrates with Keystone for multi-region support and service discovery.

Developers use it to automate storage provisioning, backup management, and volume lifecycle operations in OpenStack environments. The package supports Python 3.10 through 3.13 and depends on standard OpenStack libraries (oslo.i18n, oslo.utils) plus requests for HTTP communication. It's maintained as part of the official OpenStack project and covers the full Cinder API surface.

Use it for:

- Automate volume creation, deletion, and management in OpenStack environments from Python code
- Build command-line workflows for storage administrators to manage backups and snapshots
- Integrate block storage operations into infrastructure-as-code or cloud orchestration tools
- Query volume metadata, availability zones, and backend capabilities for reporting
- Manage volume encryption types and QoS policies across OpenStack deployments

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Python bindings and command-line interface to the OpenStack Cinder block storage API, implementing 100% of the API surface for volume management, backups, snapshots, and related operations.

Yes. This is the official OpenStack Cinder client with active maintenance, no known vulnerabilities, low install friction, and permissive licensing. Install it if you need to manage OpenStack block storage from Python or the command line. The only prerequisite is Python 3.10+ and valid OpenStack credentials.

## Install

pip install python-cinderclient
uv add python-cinderclient
poetry add python-cinderclient

## Installing python-cinderclient

Before you install: Low install friction with a pure-Python wheel distribution. Active maintenance status with recent release (165 days ago). Depends on established OpenStack libraries (keystoneauth1, oslo.i18n, oslo.utils) and common utilities (requests, stevedore, PrettyTable).

License in practice: Apache License 2.0 (permissive): you can use, modify, and distribute this package freely in commercial and private projects with minimal restrictions, provided you include the license notice.

Quickstart:

pip install python-cinderclient

from cinderclient import client

# Authenticate and create a client
cinder = client.Client('3', session=keystone_session)
volumes = cinder.volumes.list()

Requires Python 3.10 or later. Keystone authentication session must be configured with OpenStack credentials (OS_USERNAME, OS_PASSWORD, OS_AUTH_URL, OS_VOLUME_API_VERSION environment variables or explicit parameters).

Verify before relying:

- Whether the package supports all current OpenStack Cinder API versions beyond version 3
- Performance characteristics when managing large numbers of volumes or backups
- Compatibility with non-Rackspace OpenStack deployments beyond the documented Keystone integration

## Package facts

- License: Apache-2.0 (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 533.6K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

openstack cinder client, block storage api python, openstack volume management, cinder command line tool, openstack block storage client, openstack, block-storage, cloud-infrastructure

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