Create Your First Stack

Overview

A is the fundamental unit of Polystack Orchestration. You describe the desired infrastructure in an orchestration template, submit it to the Orchestration API, and the engine provisions every resource in dependency order, reporting the overall stack status when complete.

Prerequisites

A project with member or admin role
At least one image available in the Polystack Image Service
At least one flavor available for your project
A network available in your project
polystack CLI installed and authenticated (see CLI Setup)

What Is a Stack?

A stack groups related cloud resources into a single deployable unit:

Concept	Description
Template	A YAML file declaring the resources, parameters, and outputs for a deployment
Stack	The live instantiation of a template — the actual running resources
Parameter	A runtime variable that customizes a template without editing it
Output	A value produced by the stack (e.g., an IP address) returned after creation
Resource	A single cloud object managed by the stack (instance, network, volume, etc.)

Example Template

The following template launches a single compute instance with a configurable flavor. Save it as first-stack.yaml:

first-stack.yaml

polystack_template_version: "2025-10-15"

description: >
  A minimal orchestration template that launches a single compute
  instance with a parameterized flavor and key pair.

parameters:
  instance_name:
    type: string
    label: Instance Name
    description: Display name for the compute instance
    default: my-first-instance

  flavor:
    type: string
    label: Flavor
    description: Compute flavor (vCPU and RAM profile)
    default: m1.small

  image:
    type: string
    label: Image
    description: OS image name or ID to boot from
    default: Ubuntu-22.04

  key_name:
    type: string
    label: Key Pair
    description: SSH key pair for instance access

  network:
    type: string
    label: Network
    description: Network to attach the instance to
    default: default

resources:
  my_instance:
    type: Polystack::Compute::Server
    properties:
      name: { get_param: instance_name }
      flavor: { get_param: flavor }
      image: { get_param: image }
      key_name: { get_param: key_name }
      networks:
        - network: { get_param: network }

outputs:
  instance_id:
    description: The ID of the created instance
    value: { get_resource: my_instance }

  instance_ip:
    description: The assigned IP address
    value: { get_attr: [my_instance, first_address] }

Create a Stack

Dashboard
CLI

Navigate to Orchestration

Navigate to Orchestration > Stacks.

Open the Create Stack wizard

Click Create Stack. The 2-step wizard opens.

Step 1 — Prepare Template

Field	Type	Required	Description
Template Content	Text area with file upload	Yes	Paste YAML template or upload a `.yaml` file
Environment Variable	Text area with file upload	No	Optional environment variables file for template parameters

The template is validated for YAML syntax. Click Next to proceed.

Environment variable files let you separate configuration from the template. Parameters in the environment file must match those defined in the template.

Step 2 — Orchestration Information

Field	Type	Required	Default	Description
Stack Name	Text	Yes	—	Unique name for this stack
Creation Timeout (Minutes)	Number	Yes	60	Time before creation is marked as failed
Fail Rollback	Radio	Yes	Enable	Enable: delete resources on failure. Disable: keep resources on failure

Below these fields, dynamic parameter fields appear based on the template’s parameters section. Each template parameter becomes a form field with:

Type mapped from template: string → text input, number → number input, json → JSON input, boolean → Yes/No radio
Default values pre-populated from template
Description shown as help text

Click Confirm to create the stack.

The stack appears in the list with status Create In Progress.

Monitor progress

Click the stack name to open the detail view. Four tabs are available:

Detail — Startup parameters (timeout, rollback), outputs, deployment parameters
Stack Resources — List of provisioned resources with links to their detail pages
Stack Events — Real-time provisioning events with timestamps and status
YAML File — Read-only view of the template YAML

Status transitions to Create Complete when all resources are successfully provisioned.

Authenticate

Source credentials

source openrc.sh

Validate the template

Validate template syntax

openstack orchestration template validate -t first-stack.yaml

A valid template returns the parsed parameter and resource definitions. Fix any reported errors before proceeding.

Create the stack

Create stack with parameters

openstack stack create \
  --template first-stack.yaml \
  --parameter key_name=my-keypair \
  --parameter flavor=m1.small \
  --parameter network=default \
  --wait \
  my-first-stack

The --wait flag blocks until the stack reaches a terminal state.

Flag	Description
`--template`	Path to local template file (or `--template-url` for remote)
`--parameter`	Override a template parameter (repeat for each parameter)
`--wait`	Wait for stack creation to complete before returning
`--timeout`	Maximum minutes to wait before marking as failed (default: 60)

Verify stack status

Show stack details

openstack stack show my-first-stack

List stack resources

openstack stack resource list my-first-stack

Show stack outputs

openstack stack output list my-first-stack
openstack stack output show my-first-stack instance_ip

stack_status shows CREATE_COMPLETE. Every resource in the list displays CREATE_COMPLETE.

List and Inspect Stacks

Dashboard
CLI

Navigate to Orchestration > Stacks to see all stacks in your project. Click any stack to view its detail, resources, events, and template.

List all stacks

openstack stack list

Show stack detail

openstack stack show my-first-stack

List stack events

openstack stack event list my-first-stack

Delete a Stack

Deleting a stack permanently deletes all resources it manages. This includes instances, volumes, networks, and any other resources created by the template. This operation cannot be undone.

Dashboard
CLI

In the Stacks list, check the box next to your stack and click Delete Stacks. Confirm the deletion in the dialog.

Stack status transitions to Delete In Progress, then disappears from the list.

Delete a stack

openstack stack delete --yes --wait my-first-stack

openstack stack list no longer shows the deleted stack.

Next Steps

Template Guide

Learn template structure, parameter types, and intrinsic functions

Resource Types

Explore compute, network, storage, and identity resource definitions

Manage Stacks

Update, suspend, resume, and manage the stack lifecycle

Auto-Scaling

Scale instance groups automatically with alarm-driven policies

Core Services

Other Services

Overview

What Is a Stack?

Example Template

Create a Stack

Navigate to Orchestration

Open the Create Stack wizard

Step 1 — Prepare Template

Step 2 — Orchestration Information

Monitor progress

Authenticate

Validate the template

Create the stack

Verify stack status

List and Inspect Stacks

Delete a Stack

Next Steps

Template Guide

Resource Types

Manage Stacks

Auto-Scaling

​Overview

​What Is a Stack?

​Example Template

​Create a Stack

Navigate to Orchestration

Open the Create Stack wizard

Step 1 — Prepare Template

Step 2 — Orchestration Information

Monitor progress

Authenticate

Validate the template

Create the stack

Verify stack status

​List and Inspect Stacks

​Delete a Stack

​Next Steps

Template Guide

Resource Types

Manage Stacks

Auto-Scaling

Overview

What Is a Stack?

Example Template

Create a Stack

List and Inspect Stacks

Delete a Stack

Next Steps