I built a tool that deploys a fully functional OpenStack on Ubuntu/Debian with a single command
Hey everyone,
I've been working on DeployStack, an open-source CLI tool that deploys a complete, working OpenStack environment on a single Debian/Ubuntu node — batteries included.
Why I built it
If you've ever tried to set up OpenStack for development or testing on Ubuntu, you know the pain. Devstack is messy and developer-oriented, Microstack is locked into Snap and doesn't configure Cinder or Neutron properly out of the box, and tools like Kolla-Ansible or Juju are overkill for a single node. On RHEL/CentOS there was Packstack, which actually worked. On Debian/Ubuntu, nothing comparable ever existed — so I built it.
What it does
One command:
deploystack deploy --allinone
A few minutes later you have a fully working OpenStack with:
- Keystone, Glance, Nova, Neutron, Placement, Horizon
- Cinder with LVM backend (loopback or physical volume) — works immediately, no extra steps
- Neutron with OVS or OVN — instances have internet access out of the box
- Automatic network interface detection — no manual bridge configuration
- Floating IPs working immediately after deployment
You can also launch instances directly:
deploystack launch --name my-vm --image ubuntu --password MySecret123
And download and upload cloud images automatically:
deploystack image upload --os ubuntu --version noble --arch amd64
What makes it different from Microstack
Microstack gives you OpenStack "installed" but not "working" — Cinder requires extra flags that are marked experimental and often fail, and instances don't have internet access without manual network configuration. DeployStack configures everything end-to-end, including OVS/OVN bridges, LVM volumes, and provider networks.
Stack
- Python 3.10+
- Debian/Ubuntu (tested on Ubuntu 22.04, 24.04)
- OpenStack Caracal
- OVS or OVN for Neutron
Still in active development — a .deb package is coming soon.
GitHub: https://github.com/St3vSoft/DeployStack Wiki: https://github.com/St3vSoft/DeployStack/wiki
Would love feedback from anyone who's fought with OpenStack deployments before!