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First Steps with the OVHcloud API

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Stephanie Richards
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The APIs available on https://api.us.ovhcloud.com/ allow you to purchase, manage, update, and configure OVHcloud products without using a graphical interface such as the Control Panel.

Learn how to use OVHcloud APIs and how to pair them with your applications.

Requirements

  • You have an active OVHcloud account and know its credentials.

  • You are on the OVHcloud API web page.

Instructions

NOTE: OVHcloud is providing you with services for which you are responsible, with regard to their configuration and management. You are therefore responsible for ensuring they function correctly.

 

Simple Use

Sign in to OVHcloud APIs

On the OVHcloud API page, click Explore the OVHcloud API to view the list of APIs.

first_steps_API01.png

 

To use the APIs on your products, you must sign in to this site using your OVHcloud credentials.

  • Click Login in the upper right.

first_steps_API02.png

  • Enter your OVHcloud credentials and click Login.

first_steps_API03.png

  • Set the validity time for the login, then click Authorize.

first_steps_API04.png

 

NOTE: If your OVHcloud account is protected by two-factor authentication, you will also need to enter the code generated by SMS or OTP mobile application or U2F key.

 

Explore available products on APIs

Once logged in, you will see a list of OVHcloud products that can be managed with APIs. This list is sorted alphabetically.

first_steps_API05.png

 

For example, to view the Public Cloud APIs, click /cloud in the list.

After you click the product, a list of the product’s APIs appears below. There is also a Filter feature to limit the visible API calls.

first_steps_API06.png

 

Run API

There are four types of APIs available that use what are called HTTP methods:

GET

The GET method is used to retrieve data from a resource.

For example, to retrieve a list of your instances, use the following API:

GET /cloud/project/{serviceName}/instance

POST

The POST method is used to send additional data to the resource.

For example, to create a new instance, use the following API:

POST /cloud/project/{serviceName}/instance

PUT

The PUT method is used to replace the current data in the resource with the data in the query.

For example, to alter an instance in your project, use the following API:

PUT /cloud/project/{serviceName}/instance/{instanceId}

DELETE

The DELETE method is used to delete the called resource.

For example, to delete an instance from your project, use the following API:

DELETE /cloud/project/{serviceName}/instance/{instanceId}
 
API parameters

After you click the API you want, the Parameters section allows you to assign variables for its application.

For example, when retrieving a list of instances in a project you must enter the serviceName and can also add information in the region variable.

Once you have set the parameters, you can launch the API by clicking Execute.

first_steps_API07.png

 

The Result tab displayed will give you the API execution report.

The PHP and Python tabs contain the elements to be added to your script according to the language used.

first_steps_API08.png

 

Advanced usage: pair OVHcloud APIs with an application

Create your app keys

Any application that wants to communicate with the OVHcloud API must be declared in advance.

To do this, click the following link: https://us.ovhcloud.com/auth/api/createToken.

Fill in your OVHcloud customer ID, password, and application name. The name will be useful later if you want to allow others to use it.

You can also add a description of the application and a validity period.

The Rights field allows you to restrict the use of the application to certain APIs.
To allow all OVHcloud APIs for an HTTP method, put an asterisk (*) into the field, as in the following example where the GET method is allowed for all APIs:

firststeps7.png

After you click Create keys, you will be issued three keys:

  • the application key, called AK. For example:
7kbG7Bk7S9Nt7ZSV
  • your secret application key, not to be disclosed, is called AS. For example:
EXEgWIz07P0HYwtQDs7cNIqCiQaWSuHF
  • a secret “consumer key“, not to be disclosed, called CK. For example:
MtSwSrPpNjqfVSmJhLbPyr2i45lSwPU1

In this case, the CK key is attached to your account.

The CK token can be used for rights delegation.

 

First API Usage

Once you have obtained your three keys (AK, AS, CK), you can sign API requests. The signature is calculated as follows:

"$1$" + SHA1_HEX(AS+"+"+CK+"+"+METHOD+"+"+QUERY+"+"+BODY+"+"+TSTAMP)

To simplify the development of your applications, OVHcloud provides API wrappers in multiple languages. Using them will help you avoid worrying about signing requests so that you can focus on developing your application.

Here is an example of how to use the /me section to manage your OVHcloud account:

import ovh

# Instantiate. Visit https://ca.api.ovh.com/createToken/?GET=/me

# to get your credentials
client = ovh.Client(
    endpoint='ovh-us',
    application_key='<application key>',
    application_secret='<application secret>',
    consumer_key='<consumer key>',
)

# Print nice welcome message
print("Welcome", client.get('/me')['firstname'])

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