Docker Images

LocalStack functions as a local “mini-cloud” operating system that runs inside a Docker container. LocalStack has multiple components, which include process management, file system abstraction, event processing, schedulers, and more. Running inside a Docker container, LocalStack exposes external network ports for integrations, SDKs, or CLI interfaces to connect to LocalStack APIs. The LocalStack & LocalStack for AWS Docker images have been downloaded over 130+ million times and provide a multi-arch build compatible with AMD/x86 and ARM-based CPU architectures. This section will cover the different Docker images available for LocalStack and how to use them.

LocalStack for AWS image

LocalStack for AWS contains various advanced extensions to the LocalStack base platform. With LocalStack for AWS image, you can access all the emulated AWS cloud services running entirely on your local machine. To use the LocalStack for AWS image, you can pull the image from Docker Hub:

docker pull localstack/localstack:latest

To use the LocalStack for AWS image, you must configure an environment variable named LOCALSTACK_AUTH_TOKEN to contain your Auth Token. The LocalStack for AWS image will display a warning if you do not set an Auth Token (or if the license is invalid/expired) and will not activate the Pro features. LocalStack for AWS gives you access to the complete set of LocalStack features, including the LocalStack Web Application and dedicated customer support.

You can use the LocalStack for AWS image to start your LocalStack container using various installation methods. While configuring to run LocalStack with Docker or Docker Compose, run the localstack/localstack-pro image with the appropriate tag you have pulled (if not latest).

Note

Earlier, we maintained localstack/localstack-light and localstack/localstack-full images. They have been deprecated and are removed with the LocalStack 2.0 release. The BigData image, which started as a bigdata_container container, has also been deprecated in favor of a BigData Mono container which installs dependencies directly into the LocalStack (localstack-main) container.

Image tags

We use tags for versions with significant features, enhancements, or bug fixes - following semantic versioning. To ensure that we move quickly and steadily, we run nightly builds, where all our updates are available on the latest tag of LocalStack’s Docker image. We intend to announce more significant features and enhancements during major & minor releases. We occasionally create patch releases for minor bug fixes and enhancements, to ensure that we can deliver changes quickly while not breaking your existing workflows (in case you prefer not to use latest).

Visit the LocalStack for AWS tag in Docker Hub pages.