MiniStack AWS Emulator

Skill by ara.so — Daily 2026 Skills collection.

MiniStack is a free, MIT-licensed drop-in replacement for LocalStack that emulates 25+ AWS services (S3, SQS, DynamoDB, Lambda, SNS, IAM, STS, Kinesis, EventBridge, SecretsManager, SSM, CloudWatch, SES, and more) on a single port (4566). No account, no API key, no telemetry. Works with boto3, AWS CLI, Terraform, CDK, and any SDK.

---

Installation

Option 1: PyPI (simplest)

pip install ministack
ministack
# Server runs at http://localhost:4566
# Change port: GATEWAY_PORT=5000 ministack

Option 2: Docker Hub

docker run -p 4566:4566 nahuelnucera/ministack

Option 3: Docker Compose (from source)

git clone https://github.com/Nahuel990/ministack
cd ministack
docker compose up -d

Verify it's running

curl http://localhost:4566/_localstack/health

---

Configuration

Environment Variable	Default	Description
GATEWAY_PORT	4566	Port to listen on
S3_PERSIST	0	Set to 1 to persist S3 data to disk

---

AWS CLI Usage

# Set credentials (any non-empty values work)
export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=test
export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=test
export AWS_DEFAULT_REGION=us-east-1

# S3
aws --endpoint-url=http://localhost:4566 s3 mb s3://my-bucket
aws --endpoint-url=http://localhost:4566 s3 cp ./file.txt s3://my-bucket/
aws --endpoint-url=http://localhost:4566 s3 ls s3://my-bucket

# SQS
aws --endpoint-url=http://localhost:4566 sqs create-queue --queue-name my-queue
aws --endpoint-url=http://localhost:4566 sqs list-queues

# DynamoDB
aws --endpoint-url=http://localhost:4566 dynamodb list-tables
aws --endpoint-url=http://localhost:4566 dynamodb create-table \
  --table-name Users \
  --attribute-definitions AttributeName=userId,AttributeType=S \
  --key-schema AttributeName=userId,KeyType=HASH \
  --billing-mode PAY_PER_REQUEST

# STS (identity check)
aws --endpoint-url=http://localhost:4566 sts get-caller-identity

# Use a named profile instead
aws configure --profile local
# Enter: test / test / us-east-1 / json
aws --profile local --endpoint-url=http://localhost:4566 s3 ls

awslocal wrapper (from source)

chmod +x bin/awslocal
./bin/awslocal s3 ls
./bin/awslocal dynamodb list-tables

---

boto3 Usage Patterns

Universal client factory

import boto3

ENDPOINT = "http://localhost:4566"

def aws_client(service: str):
    return boto3.client(
        service,
        endpoint_url=ENDPOINT,
        aws_access_key_id="test",
        aws_secret_access_key="test",
        region_name="us-east-1",
    )

def aws_resource(service: str):
    return boto3.resource(
        service,
        endpoint_url=ENDPOINT,
        aws_access_key_id="test",
        aws_secret_access_key="test",
        region_name="us-east-1",
    )

S3

s3 = aws_client("s3")

# Create bucket and upload
s3.create_bucket(Bucket="my-bucket")
s3.put_object(Bucket="my-bucket", Key="hello.txt", Body=b"Hello, MiniStack!")

# Download
obj = s3.get_object(Bucket="my-bucket", Key="hello.txt")
print(obj["Body"].read())  # b'Hello, MiniStack!'

# List objects
response = s3.list_objects_v2(Bucket="my-bucket")
for item in response.get("Contents", []):
    print(item["Key"])

# Copy object
s3.copy_object(
    Bucket="my-bucket",
    CopySource={"Bucket": "my-bucket", "Key": "hello.txt"},
    Key="hello-copy.txt",
)

# Enable versioning
s3.put_bucket_versioning(
    Bucket="my-bucket",
    VersioningConfiguration={"Status": "Enabled"},
)

# Presigned URL (works locally)
url = s3.generate_presigned_url(
    "get_object",
    Params={"Bucket": "my-bucket", "Key": "hello.txt"},
    ExpiresIn=3600,
)

SQS

sqs = aws_client("sqs")

# Standard queue
queue = sqs.create_queue(QueueName="my-queue")
queue_url = queue["QueueUrl"]

sqs.send_message(QueueUrl=queue_url, MessageBody='{"event": "user_signup"}')

messages = sqs.receive_message(QueueUrl=queue_url, MaxNumberOfMessages=10)
for msg in messages.get("Messages", []):
    print(msg["Body"])
    sqs.delete_message(QueueUrl=queue_url, ReceiptHandle=msg["ReceiptHandle"])

# FIFO queue
fifo = sqs.create_queue(
    QueueName="my-queue.fifo",
    Attributes={"FifoQueue": "true", "ContentBasedDeduplication": "true"},
)

# Dead-letter queue setup
dlq = sqs.create_queue(QueueName="my-dlq")
dlq_attrs = sqs.get_queue_attributes(
    QueueUrl=dlq["QueueUrl"], AttributeNames=["QueueArn"]
)
sqs.set_queue_attributes(
    QueueUrl=queue_url,
    Attributes={
        "RedrivePolicy": json.dumps({
            "deadLetterTargetArn": dlq_attrs["Attributes"]["QueueArn"],
            "maxReceiveCount": "3",
        })
    },
)

DynamoDB

import json
ddb = aws_client("dynamodb")

# Create table
ddb.create_table(
    TableName="Users",
    KeySchema=[
        {"AttributeName": "userId", "KeyType": "HASH"},
        {"AttributeName": "createdAt", "KeyType": "RANGE"},
    ],
    AttributeDefinitions=[
        {"AttributeName": "userId", "AttributeType": "S"},
        {"AttributeName": "createdAt", "AttributeType": "N"},
    ],
    BillingMode="PAY_PER_REQUEST",
)

# Put / Get / Delete
ddb.put_item(
    TableName="Users",
    Item={
        "userId": {"S": "u1"},
        "createdAt": {"N": "1700000000"},
        "name": {"S": "Alice"},
        "active": {"BOOL": True},
    },
)

item = ddb.get_item(
    TableName="Users",
    Key={"userId": {"S": "u1"}, "createdAt": {"N": "1700000000"}},
)
print(item["Item"]["name"]["S"])  # Alice

# Query
result = ddb.query(
    TableName="Users",
    KeyConditionExpression="userId = :uid",
    ExpressionAttributeValues={":uid": {"S": "u1"}},
)

# Batch write
ddb.batch_write_item(
    RequestItems={
        "Users": [
            {"PutRequest": {"Item": {"userId": {"S": "u2"}, "createdAt": {"N": "1700000001"}, "name": {"S": "Bob"}}}},
        ]
    }
)

# TTL
ddb.update_time_to_live(
    TableName="Users",
    TimeToLiveSpecification={"Enabled": True, "AttributeName": "expiresAt"},
)

SNS + SQS Fanout

sns = aws_client("sns")
sqs = aws_client("sqs")

topic = sns.create_topic(Name="my-topic")
topic_arn = topic["TopicArn"]

queue = sqs.create_queue(QueueName="fan-queue")
queue_attrs = sqs.get_queue_attributes(
    QueueUrl=queue["QueueUrl"], AttributeNames=["QueueArn"]
)
queue_arn = queue_attrs["Attributes"]["QueueArn"]

sns.subscribe(TopicArn=topic_arn, Protocol="sqs", Endpoint=queue_arn)

# Publish — message is fanned out to subscribed SQS queues
sns.publish(TopicArn=topic_arn, Message="hello fanout", Subject="test")

Lambda

import zipfile, io

# Create a zip with handler code
buf = io.BytesIO()
with zipfile.ZipFile(buf, "w") as zf:
    zf.writestr("handler.py", """
def handler(event, context):
    print("event:", event)
    return {"statusCode": 200, "body": "ok"}
""")
buf.seek(0)

lam = aws_client("lambda")

lam.create_function(
    FunctionName="my-function",
    Runtime="python3.12",
    Role="arn:aws:iam::000000000000:role/role",
    Handler="handler.handler",
    Code={"ZipFile": buf.read()},
)

# Invoke synchronously
import json
response = lam.invoke(
    FunctionName="my-function",
    InvocationType="RequestResponse",
    Payload=json.dumps({"key": "value"}),
)
result = json.loads(response["Payload"].read())
print(result)  # {"statusCode": 200, "body": "ok"}

# SQS event source mapping
lam.create_event_source_mapping(
    EventSourceArn=queue_arn,
    FunctionName="my-function",
    BatchSize=10,
    Enabled=True,
)

SecretsManager

sm = aws_client("secretsmanager")

sm.create_secret(Name="db-password", SecretString='{"password":"s3cr3t"}')
secret = sm.get_secret_value(SecretId="db-password")
print(secret["SecretString"])  # {"password":"s3cr3t"}

sm.update_secret(SecretId="db-password", SecretString='{"password":"newpass"}')
sm.delete_secret(SecretId="db-password", ForceDeleteWithoutRecovery=True)

SSM Parameter Store

ssm = aws_client("ssm")

ssm.put_parameter(Name="/app/db/host", Value="localhost", Type="String")
ssm.put_parameter(Name="/app/db/password", Value="secret", Type="SecureString")

param = ssm.get_parameter(Name="/app/db/host")
print(param["Parameter"]["Value"])  # localhost

# Fetch all params under a path
params = ssm.get_parameters_by_path(Path="/app/", Recursive=True)
for p in params["Parameters"]:
    print(p["Name"], p["Value"])

Kinesis

import base64

kin = aws_client("kinesis")

kin.create_stream(StreamName="events", ShardCount=1)
kin.put_record(StreamName="events", Data=b'{"event":"click"}', PartitionKey="user1")

# Get records
shards = kin.list_shards(StreamName="events")
shard_id = shards["Shards"][0]["ShardId"]

iterator = kin.get_shard_iterator(
    StreamName="events",
    ShardId=shard_id,
    ShardIteratorType="TRIM_HORIZON",
)
records = kin.get_records(ShardIterator=iterator["ShardIterator"])
for r in records["Records"]:
    print(base64.b64decode(r["Data"]))

EventBridge

eb = aws_client("events")

# Create a custom bus
eb.create_event_bus(Name="my-bus")

# Put a rule targeting a Lambda
eb.put_rule(
    Name="my-rule",
    EventBusName="my-bus",
    EventPattern='{"source": ["myapp"]}',
    State="ENABLED",
)
eb.put_targets(
    Rule="my-rule",
    EventBusName="my-bus",
    Targets=[{"Id": "1", "Arn": "arn:aws:lambda:us-east-1:000000000000:function:my-function"}],
)

# Emit an event (triggers Lambda target)
eb.put_events(Entries=[{
    "Source": "myapp",
    "DetailType": "UserSignup",
    "Detail": '{"userId": "123"}',
    "EventBusName": "my-bus",
}])

CloudWatch Logs

import time

logs = aws_client("logs")

logs.create_log_group(logGroupName="/app/service")
logs.create_log_stream(logGroupName="/app/service", logStreamName="stream-1")

logs.put_log_events(
    logGroupName="/app/service",
    logStreamName="stream-1",
    logEvents=[
        {"timestamp": int(time.time() * 1000), "message": "App started"},
        {"timestamp": int(time.time() * 1000), "message": "Request received"},
    ],
)

events = logs.get_log_events(
    logGroupName="/app/service",
    logStreamName="stream-1",
)
for e in events["events"]:
    print(e["message"])

# Filter with glob patterns (* and ?), AND terms, -exclusions
filtered = logs.filter_log_events(
    logGroupName="/app/service",
    filterPattern="Request*",
)

---

Testing Patterns

pytest fixture (recommended)

import pytest
import boto3

MINISTACK_ENDPOINT = "http://localhost:4566"

@pytest.fixture(scope="session")
def aws_endpoint():
    return MINISTACK_ENDPOINT

@pytest.fixture
def s3_client(aws_endpoint):
    return boto3.client(
        "s3",
        endpoint_url=aws_endpoint,
        aws_access_key_id="test",
        aws_secret_access_key="test",
        region_name="us-east-1",
    )

@pytest.fixture
def test_bucket(s3_client):
    bucket = "test-bucket"
    s3_client.create_bucket(Bucket=bucket)
    yield bucket
    # Cleanup
    objs = s3_client.list_objects_v2(Bucket=bucket).get("Contents", [])
    for obj in objs:
        s3_client.delete_object(Bucket=bucket, Key=obj["Key"])
    s3_client.delete_bucket(Bucket=bucket)

def test_upload_download(s3_client, test_bucket):
    s3_client.put_object(Bucket=test_bucket, Key="test.txt", Body=b"hello")
    resp = s3_client.get_object(Bucket=test_bucket, Key="test.txt")
    assert resp["Body"].read() == b"hello"

GitHub Actions CI integration

# .github/workflows/test.yml
name: Test

on: [push, pull_request]

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    services:
      ministack:
        image: nahuelnucera/ministack
        ports:
          - 4566:4566
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-python@v5
        with:
          python-version: "3.12"
      - run: pip install -r requirements.txt
      - run: pytest
        env:
          AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID: test
          AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: test
          AWS_DEFAULT_REGION: us-east-1
          AWS_ENDPOINT_URL: http://localhost:4566

Using AWS_ENDPOINT_URL env var (boto3 >= 1.28)

import os
import boto3

# If AWS_ENDPOINT_URL is set, boto3 uses it automatically — no endpoint_url kwarg needed
# export AWS_ENDPOINT_URL=http://localhost:4566
s3 = boto3.client("s3")  # picks up AWS_ENDPOINT_URL automatically

---

Supported Services (25+)

Service	Key Operations
S3	CRUD, multipart, versioning, encryption, lifecycle, CORS, ACL, notifications
SQS	Standard & FIFO queues, DLQ, batch ops
SNS	Topics, subscriptions, fanout to SQS/Lambda, platform endpoints
DynamoDB	Tables, CRUD, Query, Scan, TTL, transactions, batch ops
Lambda	Python runtimes, invoke, SQS event sources, Function URLs
IAM	Users, roles, policies, groups, instance profiles, OIDC
STS	GetCallerIdentity, AssumeRole, GetSessionToken
SecretsManager	Full CRUD, rotation, versioning
SSM Parameter Store	String, SecureString, StringList, path queries
EventBridge	Buses, rules, targets, Lambda dispatch
Kinesis	Streams, shards, records, iterators
CloudWatch Metrics	PutMetricData, alarms, dashboards, CBOR protocol
CloudWatch Logs	Log groups/streams, filter with globs, metric filters
SES	Send email, templates, configuration sets
Step Functions	State machine CRUD
RDS	Spins up real Postgres/MySQL containers
ElastiCache	Spins up real Redis containers
Athena	Real SQL via DuckDB
ECS	Real Docker containers

---

Troubleshooting

Connection refused on port 4566

# Check if ministack is running
curl http://localhost:4566/_localstack/health
# Start it
ministack
# or
docker run -p 4566:4566 nahuelnucera/ministack

NoCredentialsError from boto3

export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=test
export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=test
export AWS_DEFAULT_REGION=us-east-1
# Any non-empty values work — MiniStack doesn't validate credentials

InvalidSignatureException

• This is usually a region mismatch. Ensure region_name="us-east-1" matches across all clients.

Lambda function not found after create

• MiniStack executes Python runtimes with a warm worker pool. Wait briefly or invoke with InvocationType="Event" for async.

S3 data lost on restart

# Enable persistence
S3_PERSIST=1 ministack
# or in Docker
docker run -p 4566:4566 -e S3_PERSIST=1 -v $(pwd)/data:/data nahuelnucera/ministack

Port conflict

GATEWAY_PORT=5000 ministack
# Then use http://localhost:5000 as endpoint

Migrating from LocalStack

• Replace all http://localhost:4566 endpoint URLs — they stay the same.
• Remove LOCALSTACK_AUTH_TOKEN / LOCALSTACK_API_KEY env vars (not needed).
• Replace localstack/localstack Docker image with nahuelnucera/ministack.
• All boto3 client code works without modification.