Oracle Cloud Multi-Environment Setup
Overview
OCI has no "accounts" like AWS — you use compartments plus OCI config profiles for dev/staging/prod separation. But profile switching is manual, compartment OCIDs are easy to confuse, and one wrong --compartment-id deploys to production. This skill sets up safe multi-environment workflows with named profiles, compartment aliasing, environment validation, and deployment guardrails.
Purpose: Configure safe, repeatable multi-environment OCI workflows that prevent accidental cross-environment operations.
Prerequisites
- OCI Python SDK —
pip install oci - OCI CLI — installed and configured (
oci setup config) - Separate API keys per environment (recommended) or a single key with cross-compartment policies
- Compartment OCIDs for each environment (dev, staging, prod)
- Python 3.8+
Instructions
Step 1: Configure Multi-Profile ~/.oci/config
The OCI config file supports named profiles. Each profile can point to different tenancies, regions, or use different API keys:
# ~/.oci/config
[DEFAULT]
user=ocid1.user.oc1..exampleuniqueID
fingerprint=aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff:00:11:22:33:44:55:66:77:88:99
tenancy=ocid1.tenancy.oc1..exampleuniqueID
region=us-ashburn-1
key_file=~/.oci/oci_api_key.pem
[DEV]
user=ocid1.user.oc1..exampleuniqueID
fingerprint=aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff:00:11:22:33:44:55:66:77:88:99
tenancy=ocid1.tenancy.oc1..exampleuniqueID
region=us-ashburn-1
key_file=~/.oci/oci_api_key_dev.pem
[STAGING]
user=ocid1.user.oc1..exampleuniqueID
fingerprint=11:22:33:44:55:66:77:88:99:aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff:00
tenancy=ocid1.tenancy.oc1..exampleuniqueID
region=us-phoenix-1
key_file=~/.oci/oci_api_key_staging.pem
[PROD]
user=ocid1.user.oc1..exampleuniqueID
fingerprint=ff:ee:dd:cc:bb:aa:00:99:88:77:66:55:44:33:22:11
tenancy=ocid1.tenancy.oc1..exampleuniqueID
region=us-ashburn-1
key_file=~/.oci/oci_api_key_prod.pem
Best practice: Use different API key pairs per environment. If the dev key is compromised, prod is unaffected.
Step 2: Create an Environment Configuration Module
Centralize compartment OCIDs and profile mappings to prevent OCID confusion:
import oci
import os
# Environment configuration — single source of truth for OCIDs
ENVIRONMENTS = {
"dev": {
"profile": "DEV",
"compartment_id": "ocid1.compartment.oc1..dev_example",
"region": "us-ashburn-1",
"allow_destructive": True,
},
"staging": {
"profile": "STAGING",
"compartment_id": "ocid1.compartment.oc1..staging_example",
"region": "us-phoenix-1",
"allow_destructive": True,
},
"prod": {
"profile": "PROD",
"compartment_id": "ocid1.compartment.oc1..prod_example",
"region": "us-ashburn-1",
"allow_destructive": False, # Safety: block destructive ops
},
}
def get_oci_config(env_name):
"""Load OCI config for the specified environment.
Validates the environment name and returns a configured
OCI config dict ready for client construction.
"""
if env_name not in ENVIRONMENTS:
raise ValueError(
f"Unknown environment: {env_name}. "
f"Valid: {list(ENVIRONMENTS.keys())}"
)
env = ENVIRONMENTS[env_name]
config = oci.config.from_file("~/.oci/config", profile_name=env["profile"])
oci.config.validate_config(config)
return config, env
def get_compartment_id(env_name):
"""Get the compartment OCID for an environment."""
return ENVIRONMENTS[env_name]["compartment_id"]
def is_destructive_allowed(env_name):
"""Check if destructive operations are allowed in this environment."""
return ENVIRONMENTS[env_name]["allow_destructive"]
Step 3: Build Safe Environment-Aware Clients
Wrap OCI clients with environment validation to prevent cross-environment mistakes:
import oci
import sys
class OCIEnvironment:
"""Environment-aware OCI client factory with safety guardrails."""
def __init__(self, env_name):
self.env_name = env_name
self.config, self.env = get_oci_config(env_name)
self.compartment_id = self.env["compartment_id"]
# Verify we can authenticate
identity = oci.identity.IdentityClient(self.config)
user = identity.get_user(self.config["user"]).data
print(f"[{env_name.upper()}] Authenticated as {user.name} "
f"in {self.config['region']}")
def compute(self):
return oci.core.ComputeClient(self.config)
def network(self):
return oci.core.VirtualNetworkClient(self.config)
def storage(self):
return oci.object_storage.ObjectStorageClient(self.config)
def database(self):
return oci.database.DatabaseClient(self.config)
def safe_delete(self, operation, resource_name):
"""Execute a delete operation with environment safety checks."""
if not is_destructive_allowed(self.env_name):
print(f"BLOCKED: Destructive operation on {resource_name} "
f"not allowed in {self.env_name.upper()}")
print("Set allow_destructive=True in ENVIRONMENTS to override")
sys.exit(1)
print(f"WARNING: Deleting {resource_name} in {self.env_name.upper()}")
return operation()
# Usage
dev = OCIEnvironment("dev")
instances = dev.compute().list_instances(compartment_id=dev.compartment_id).data
print(f"Dev instances: {len(instances)}")
prod = OCIEnvironment("prod")
# prod.safe_delete(...) would be blocked by allow_destructive=False
Step 4: CLI Profile Switching
Use profiles with the OCI CLI to target specific environments:
# List instances in dev
oci compute instance list --compartment-id ocid1.compartment.oc1..dev_example --profile DEV
# List instances in prod (read-only)
oci compute instance list --compartment-id ocid1.compartment.oc1..prod_example --profile PROD
# Set default profile via environment variable
export OCI_CLI_PROFILE=DEV
# Override per-command
OCI_CLI_PROFILE=PROD oci compute instance list --compartment-id ocid1.compartment.oc1..prod_example
Shell aliases for safety:
# Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
alias oci-dev='OCI_CLI_PROFILE=DEV oci'
alias oci-staging='OCI_CLI_PROFILE=STAGING oci'
alias oci-prod='OCI_CLI_PROFILE=PROD oci'
# Usage
oci-dev compute instance list --compartment-id ocid1.compartment.oc1..dev_example
oci-prod compute instance list --compartment-id ocid1.compartment.oc1..prod_example
Step 5: Validate Config Before Operations
Always validate the config file and profile before running automation:
import oci
def validate_all_profiles():
"""Validate all OCI config profiles are properly configured."""
profiles = ["DEFAULT", "DEV", "STAGING", "PROD"]
results = {}
for profile in profiles:
try:
config = oci.config.from_file("~/.oci/config", profile_name=profile)
oci.config.validate_config(config)
# Test authentication
identity = oci.identity.IdentityClient(config)
user = identity.get_user(config["user"]).data
results[profile] = f"OK — {user.name} in {config['region']}"
except oci.exceptions.ConfigFileNotFound:
results[profile] = "FAIL — config file not found"
except oci.exceptions.ProfileNotFound:
results[profile] = "FAIL — profile not found in config"
except oci.exceptions.ServiceError as e:
results[profile] = f"FAIL — {e.status}: {e.code}"
except Exception as e:
results[profile] = f"FAIL — {str(e)}"
print("OCI Profile Validation:")
for profile, status in results.items():
print(f" [{profile}] {status}")
return all("OK" in s for s in results.values())
validate_all_profiles()
Step 6: Environment Variables for CI/CD
For CI/CD pipelines where config files are impractical, use environment variables:
# Set OCI config via environment variables (CI/CD pipelines)
export OCI_CLI_USER="ocid1.user.oc1..exampleuniqueID"
export OCI_CLI_FINGERPRINT="aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff:00:11:22:33:44:55:66:77:88:99"
export OCI_CLI_TENANCY="ocid1.tenancy.oc1..exampleuniqueID"
export OCI_CLI_REGION="us-ashburn-1"
export OCI_CLI_KEY_FILE="/path/to/key.pem"
# Or use key content directly:
export OCI_CLI_KEY_CONTENT="-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----\n..."
import oci
# Python SDK reads from environment when no config file exists
config = oci.config.from_file() # Falls back to env vars if ~/.oci/config missing
# Or construct config dict directly for CI/CD
config = {
"user": os.environ["OCI_CLI_USER"],
"fingerprint": os.environ["OCI_CLI_FINGERPRINT"],
"tenancy": os.environ["OCI_CLI_TENANCY"],
"region": os.environ["OCI_CLI_REGION"],
"key_file": os.environ["OCI_CLI_KEY_FILE"],
}
oci.config.validate_config(config)
Output
Successful completion produces:
- A
~/.oci/configfile with named profiles for each environment (DEV, STAGING, PROD) - An environment configuration module mapping profiles to compartment OCIDs
- An environment-aware client factory with safety guardrails blocking destructive prod operations
- Shell aliases for safe CLI profile switching
- Validated authentication for all profiles
Error Handling
| Error | Code | Cause | Solution |
|-------|------|-------|----------|
| ProfileNotFound | — | Wrong profile name in from_file() | Check ~/.oci/config profile names match exactly (case-sensitive) |
| ConfigFileNotFound | — | Missing ~/.oci/config | Run oci setup config or create the file manually |
| NotAuthenticated | 401 | Wrong key for the selected profile | Verify key_file path and fingerprint match the uploaded public key |
| NotAuthorizedOrNotFound | 404 | Profile's user lacks access to target compartment | Add IAM policies for the user/group in the target compartment |
| TooManyRequests | 429 | Rate limited | Back off; see oraclecloud-rate-limits |
| InternalError | 500 | OCI service error | Retry after 30s; check https://ocistatus.oraclecloud.com |
Critical mistake: Using the DEFAULT profile's compartment OCID with the PROD profile's credentials (or vice versa). The environment config module in Step 2 prevents this by coupling profile names to compartment OCIDs.
Examples
Quick profile test from the command line:
# Test all profiles in one shot
for profile in DEFAULT DEV STAGING PROD; do
echo -n "[$profile] "
oci iam user get --user-id "$(oci iam user list --profile "$profile" --query 'data[0].id' --raw-output 2>/dev/null)" --profile "$profile" --query 'data.name' --raw-output 2>/dev/null || echo "FAILED"
done
Check which profile is active:
import oci
import os
profile = os.environ.get("OCI_CLI_PROFILE", "DEFAULT")
config = oci.config.from_file("~/.oci/config", profile_name=profile)
print(f"Active profile: {profile}")
print(f"Region: {config['region']}")
print(f"Tenancy: {config['tenancy']}")
Resources
- OCI Config File — config file format and profile syntax
- CLI Environment Variables — OCI_CLI_* variables
- CLI Reference — command-line interface guide
- Python SDK Reference — config loading and client construction
- Compartment Management — organizing resources by environment
Next Steps
After environments are configured, see oraclecloud-enterprise-rbac for compartment hierarchy design with least-privilege policies, or oraclecloud-deploy-integration for CI/CD pipeline integration.