LocalStack is no longer free. MiniStack is.
$docker run -p 4566:4566 nahuelnucera/ministackcopy
⚠️
LocalStack moved core services behind a paid plan. If you relied on LocalStack Community for local dev and CI/CD, MiniStack is your free, MIT-licensed drop-in replacement. No sign-up, no API key, no telemetry.
ministack — bash
# Start MiniStack $ docker run -p 4566:4566 nahuelnucera/ministack # Works with any AWS tool — no config changes $ aws --endpoint-url=http://localhost:4566 s3 mb s3://my-bucket make_bucket: my-bucket # Real database — RDS spins up actual Postgres $ aws --endpoint-url=http://localhost:4566 rds create-db-instance \ --db-instance-identifier mydb --engine postgres \ --master-username admin --master-user-password secret ✓ Real Postgres container running on localhost:15432 # Real Redis via ElastiCache $ aws --endpoint-url=http://localhost:4566 elasticache \ create-cache-cluster --cache-cluster-id my-redis --engine redis ✓ Real Redis container running on localhost:16379
33 Services
Core AWS services plus real infrastructure — RDS runs actual databases, ElastiCache runs real Redis, ECS starts real Docker containers, Athena executes real SQL via DuckDB (when installed).
🪣
S3
Buckets, objects, versioning, encryption, lifecycle, CORS, Object Lock, replication
REST/XML
📨
SQS
Queues, FIFO, DLQ, batch, visibility
JSON+Query
📢
SNS
Topics, subscriptions, fanout to SQS, batch publish
Query/XML
🗃️
DynamoDB
Tables, CRUD, query, scan, transactions, TTL, GSI
JSON
⚡
Lambda
Real Python execution, warm workers, SQS event source mapping, Layers
REST/JSON
🔐
IAM
Users, roles, policies, groups, instance profiles, OIDC
Query/XML
🎫
STS
CallerIdentity, AssumeRole, GetSessionToken
Query/XML
🔑
Secrets Manager
CRUD, versioning, rotation, resource policies
JSON
📊
CW Logs
Groups, streams, retention, subscription filters, metric filters, Insights
JSON
📐
SSM Params
String, SecureString, paths, labels, tags
JSON
🚌
EventBridge
Buses, rules, targets, Lambda dispatch, archives, permissions
JSON
🌊
Kinesis
Streams, split/merge shards, consumers, encryption, monitoring
JSON
📈
CW Metrics
Metrics, alarms, composite alarms, dashboards, alarm history
Query/CBOR
✉️
SES
Send email/raw/templated, identities, configuration sets
Query/XML
🔄
Step Functions
Full ASL engine, sync execution, task tokens, all state types
JSON
🌐
API Gateway v2
HTTP APIs, Lambda proxy, path params, execute-api data plane
REST/JSON
🔌
API Gateway v1
REST APIs, resources, methods, integrations, stages, MOCK, Lambda proxy format 1.0
REST/JSON
🐘
RDS
Real Postgres/MySQL containers
Real Docker
🔴
ElastiCache
Real Redis/Memcached containers, users, user groups
Real Docker
🐳
ECS
RunTask starts real containers, capacity providers
Real Docker
🧪
Glue
Catalog, crawlers, jobs, triggers, workflows
Real Exec
🔍
Athena
Real SQL via DuckDB (optional), data catalogs, prepared statements
DuckDB
🚒
Firehose
Delivery streams, PutRecord/PutRecordBatch, S3 delivery, encryption, tags
REST/JSON
🌐
Route53
Hosted zones, record sets (CREATE/UPSERT/DELETE), health checks, tags, alias records
REST/XML
🔒
Cognito
User pools, auth flows, TOTP MFA, identity pools, federated credentials
JSON
🖥️
EC2
Instances, VPCs, subnets, security groups, route tables, ENIs, elastic IPs, NAT gateways, NACLs, flow logs, VPC peering, DHCP options, egress-only IGWs
Query/XML
⚡
EMR
Clusters, steps, instance groups/fleets, bootstrap actions, tags — Pro-only on LocalStack
JSON
💾
EBS
Volumes, snapshots, attach/detach, modify, copy — Pro-only on LocalStack
Query/XML
📁
EFS
File systems, mount targets, access points, lifecycle, backup policy — Pro-only on LocalStack
REST/JSON
⚖️
ALB / ELBv2
Load balancers, target groups, listeners, rules, Lambda targets + live data-plane routing — Pro-only on LocalStack
Query/XML
🔐
ACM
Request, import, describe certificates; DNS validation records; SANs; tags
JSON
✉️
SES v2
SendEmail, identities, configuration sets, account suppression — REST API
REST/JSON
🛡️
WAF v2
WebACLs, IP sets, rule groups, resource associations, LockToken enforcement — Pro-only on LocalStack
JSON
Comparison
Same developer experience. Fraction of the cost and footprint.
| Feature | LocalStack Free | LocalStack Pro | MiniStack ⚡ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core services (S3, SQS, DDB…) | Now paid | ✅ | ✅ Free |
| Lambda, IAM, SSM, EventBridge | Paid | ✅ | ✅ Free |
| RDS (real DB containers) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ Real Postgres/MySQL |
| ElastiCache (real Redis) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ Real Redis |
| ECS (real Docker) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ Real Docker |
| Athena (real SQL) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ DuckDB (optional) |
| Glue Catalog + Jobs | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| API Gateway v2 (HTTP APIs) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ + data plane |
| API Gateway v1 (REST APIs) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ + data plane |
| Firehose | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ S3 delivery |
| Route53 | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Cognito (user pools + identity) | Paid | ✅ | ✅ Free |
| EC2 (instances, VPC, subnets, SGs) | Paid | ✅ | ✅ Free |
| EMR (clusters, steps, instance groups) | Paid | ✅ | ✅ Free |
| EBS (volumes, snapshots, attach/detach) | Paid | ✅ | ✅ Free |
| EFS (file systems, mount targets, access points) | Paid | ✅ | ✅ Free |
| ALB / ELBv2 (LBs, listeners, rules + Lambda data plane) | Paid | ✅ | ✅ Free |
| SNS→SQS fanout + SQS→Lambda ESM | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Startup time | ~15-30s | ~15-30s | ~2s |
| Memory at idle | ~500MB | ~500MB | ~30MB |
| Docker image | ~1 GB | ~1 GB | 150 MB |
| License | BSL (restricted) | Proprietary | MIT |
| Price | Now paid | $35+/mo | $0 forever |
Built different
Where it matters most — RDS, ElastiCache, and ECS run real Docker containers. No fake endpoints, no stubbed responses.
🐘
Real databases via RDS
CreateDBInstance spins up an actual Postgres or MySQL Docker container. Connect with psycopg2 — it's a real database.
🔴
Real Redis via ElastiCache
CreateCacheCluster starts an actual Redis container. Use redis-py, run SUBSCRIBE, use it as your session store.
🐳
Real containers via ECS
RunTask pulls and starts real Docker containers via the Docker socket. Test your ECS task definitions locally.
🔍
Real SQL via Athena
Queries execute via DuckDB when installed. Query S3 data with actual SQL, get actual result sets back. Falls back to mock results without it.
🔌
Full SDK compatibility
Works with boto3, AWS CLI, Terraform, CDK, Pulumi — any tool that speaks the AWS API.
🔓
MIT licensed forever
No BSL, no feature gates, no "community" vs "pro". Every service is free. Fork it, embed it. MIT is MIT.
One command. 33 services. Real infrastructure. Free.
$docker run -p 4566:4566 nahuelnucera/ministackcopy