Overview
Overview
Section titled “Overview”LocalStack is a local AWS cloud environment that emulates core AWS services for development and testing.
When deployed on Kubernetes, services that typically spawn Docker containers (such as Lambda, ECS, or RDS) instead spawn Kubernetes pods within the same cluster. Behavior is improved by allowing dynamic scaling, isolation, and native Kubernetes orchestration.
Supported cases:
- Local Development Environments: Provide isolated, consistent environments for individual developers or small teams.
- CI/CD Pipeline Testing: Run end-to-end integration tests in a reproducible, cloud-like environment during CI/CD workflows.
Requirements:
Section titled “Requirements:”- K8s Cluster (k3d, minikube)
- Kubectl
- Helm
- LS helm chart
- LS operator
DIY vs Helm Chart vs Operator
Section titled “DIY vs Helm Chart vs Operator”| Deployment approach | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| DIY (YAML manifests) | · Full control over Kubernetes configuration and resources | · Time-consuming to set up and maintain · Manual updates and lifecycle management |
| Helm chart | · Simplifies deployment using templates and values.yaml· Supports versioning, upgrades, and rollbacks · Supports both LocalStack Community and Pro images | · Customization is limited to chart values and overrides |
| Operator | · Declarative, self-managed control plane · Built-in validation, defaulting, and reconciliation logic | · Limited to the LocalStack Pro image only · Steeper learning curve compared to Helm |
Licensing
Section titled “Licensing”While the LocalStack Community image can be deployed in Kubernetes, it does not support containerized service functionality required for full cloud-like behavior. Services such as Lambda, which require spawning and managing compute containers at runtime, only support pod creation with the LocalStack Pro image. The Community edition lacks the runtime capabilities needed to dynamically instantiate and orchestrate workloads in Kubernetes.
Help & Support
Section titled “Help & Support”LocalStack Pro (with a valid license) is the only version that provides:
- Official support and integration for Kubernetes environments.
- Dynamic pod creation by services like Lambda, ECS, RDS, etc.
Community image users:
- Can be deployed in Kubernetes cluster for basic service emulation (e.g., S3, SQS).
- Do not receive official Kubernetes support.
- Cannot use features like Lambda execution.