v1.0.11 · MIT licensed · free forever

The free LocalStack
replacement

LocalStack is no longer free. MiniStack is.
20 AWS services on a single port — with real Postgres, Redis, and Docker containers. No account, no license key, no telemetry.

View on GitHub 🐳 Docker Hub
$docker run -p 4566:4566 nahuelnucera/ministackcopy
20
AWS Services
~2s
Startup
~30MB
RAM at idle
150MB
Docker Image
54
Tests passing
⚠️
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
20 Services

Everything you need, locally

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, copy, list, batch
REST/XML
📨
SQS
Queues, send/receive, batch, visibility
JSON+Query
📢
SNS
Topics, subscriptions, publish
Query/XML
🗃️
DynamoDB
Tables, CRUD, query, scan, batch
JSON
⚡
Lambda
Real Python execution from zip
REST/JSON
🔐
IAM
Users, roles, policies, keys
Query/XML
🎫
STS
CallerIdentity, AssumeRole
Query/XML
🔑
Secrets Manager
CRUD with versioning
JSON
📊
CW Logs
Groups, streams, events, filter
JSON
📐
SSM Params
String, SecureString, paths
JSON
🚌
EventBridge
Buses, rules, targets, events
JSON
🌊
Kinesis
Streams, shards, put/get records
JSON
📈
CW Metrics
Metrics, alarms, statistics
Query/XML
✉️
SES
Send email, identities, quotas
Query/XML
🔄
Step Functions
State machines, executions
JSON
🐘
RDS
Real Postgres/MySQL containers
Real Docker
🔴
ElastiCache
Real Redis/Memcached containers
Real Docker
🐳
ECS
RunTask starts real containers
Real Docker
🧪
Glue
Catalog, crawlers, jobs
Real Exec
🔍
Athena
Real SQL via DuckDB (optional)
DuckDB
Comparison

LocalStack vs MiniStack

Same developer experience. Fraction of the cost and footprint.

FeatureLocalStack FreeLocalStack ProMiniStack ⚡
Core services (S3, SQS, DDB…)Now paid✅✅ Free
Lambda, IAM, SSM, EventBridgePaid✅✅ 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❌✅✅
Startup time~15-30s~15-30s~2s
Memory at idle~500MB~500MB~30MB
Docker image~1 GB~1 GB150 MB
LicenseBSL (restricted)ProprietaryMIT
PriceNow paid$35+/mo$0 forever
Built different

Real infrastructure, not mocks

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.

Stop paying for local development

One command. 20 services. Real infrastructure. Free.

GitHub 🐳 Docker Hub
$docker run -p 4566:4566 nahuelnucera/ministackcopy