Project Selector

What is a Project Selector in cloud hosting?

The project selector is a dropdown menu in the OpenStack Horizon dashboard that allows users to switch between different projects (tenants) they have permission to access. It typically appears in the top navigation bar of the interface and displays the name of the currently active project.

When you select a different project from this dropdown, the dashboard refreshes to show only the resources, settings, and data associated with that project. This ensures users can work with isolated environments without accidentally modifying resources in the wrong context.

Why Project Selectors Exist

In multi-tenant cloud environments, users often need access to multiple isolated resource groups. Without a project selector, users would need to log out and log back in with different credentials, or use separate browser sessions, every time they want to work with a different set of resources. This creates friction and increases the risk of configuration errors.

The project selector solves this by providing instant context switching within a single session. It allows one user account to interact with multiple projects based on their assigned roles, streamlining workflows for administrators and developers who manage resources across multiple environments or departments.

What Do Project Selectors Actually Do?

• Changes the active project context so all dashboard views display resources belonging to that project only
• Filters API requests so operations apply only to the selected project
• Updates quota displays to show resource limits and usage for the selected project
• Preserves your authentication session while switching contexts
• Restricts visible resources based on your role permissions in each project
• Prevents accidental cross-project modifications by isolating the working environment

When would I use a project selector?

You use the project selector when you have access to multiple projects and need to switch between them. Common situations include switching from a development project to a production project to check deployed application status, moving from a testing environment to a staging environment to verify configurations, accessing a client's project to provide support or review their infrastructure, or switching between departmental projects when managing resources for multiple teams within your organization.

When would I not use a project selector?

You do not use the project selector if you only have access to a single project. In this case, the dropdown may still appear but will show only one option, making manual selection unnecessary. You also would not use it if you need to perform cross-project operations, such as migrating resources between projects or viewing aggregated data across all projects, because the selector isolates you to one project at a time. For those scenarios, you would use administrative tools or CLI commands that operate at the cloud level rather than the project level.

Real-world example

Company A runs a software development firm with separate teams for development, staging, and production. Each environment is configured as its own OpenStack project. A DevOps engineer named Sarah has admin access to all three projects. In the morning, she logs into Horizon and uses the project selector to choose the development project, where she launches new test instances and configures networking. After lunch, she switches the project selector to the production project to investigate a performance issue with a live application. The project selector allows Sarah to move between these isolated environments instantly without logging out, ensuring she always works with the correct resources and never accidentally modifies production while intending to change development.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to use the project selector if I only have one project?

No. If you only have access to a single project, you remain in that project context automatically. The project selector may still appear in the interface, but it will show only one option. There is no need to interact with it.

Does switching projects with the project selector affect my running resources?

No. Switching projects only changes which resources you can see and manage in the dashboard. It does not stop, restart, or modify any running instances, networks, or storage volumes. Your resources continue operating regardless of which project context you are viewing.

What happens if I try to switch to a project I do not have permission to access?

You will not see that project in the project selector dropdown. The selector only displays projects where you have an assigned role. If you previously had access to a project and it no longer appears, your permissions may have been revoked by an administrator.

Can I view resources from multiple projects at the same time?

No. The project selector enforces single-project context. You can only view and manage resources from one project at a time in the Horizon dashboard. If you need to compare or work with resources across projects simultaneously, you would need to open multiple browser windows or tabs with different projects selected, or use the OpenStack CLI to query multiple projects.

If I make a mistake while working in the wrong project, can I undo it?

The project selector does not provide undo functionality. If you accidentally perform an action in the wrong project, you must manually reverse it. For example, if you delete an instance in the wrong project, you would need to recreate it. To avoid this, always verify the project name displayed in the project selector before making changes, especially for destructive operations like deleting resources or modifying security rules.

Summary

• The project selector is a dropdown menu in OpenStack Horizon that allows users to switch between projects they have access to
• It isolates resource views and operations to the currently selected project, preventing accidental cross-project modifications
• Users with access to multiple projects rely on it to move between development, staging, production, or client environments
• The selector filters all dashboard content and API operations based on the selected project context
• It provides efficient context switching without requiring separate logins or browser sessions

Related terms

• Project (tenant): An isolated container for cloud resources that provides separation between different teams, departments, or customers, such as a development team's project containing test instances and a production team's project containing live applications.
• Horizon: The web-based dashboard interface for OpenStack that provides graphical access to cloud resources, such as launching instances, creating networks, and managing storage volumes.
• Role: A permission set that defines what actions a user can perform within a project, such as an admin role allowing full resource management while a member role permits only viewing and using existing resources.