Installation

Introduction

LocalStack provides multiple installation paths depending on your development environment and requirements. We recommend a CLI-based installation for the most consistent local startup experience.

Choose the CLI that fits your workflow: use lstk to install, authenticate, and start LocalStack with minimal setup, or use the LocalStack CLI when you need full-featured management commands for advanced workflows.

LocalStack for AWS features require an Auth Token to activate your running instance. lstk handles authentication through a browser-based login flow, while the LocalStack CLI, Docker, and CI workflows can use LOCALSTACK_AUTH_TOKEN.

lstk

lstk is a lightweight CLI for LocalStack that manages the authentication and container lifecycle in a single workflow.

Requirement: You must have a working Docker installation before proceeding.

Early Release

lstk currently supports core lifecycle commands: start, stop, logs, and status. For advanced features like Cloud Pods or Extensions, use the LocalStack CLI.

Install lstk

Homebrew

brew install localstack/tap/lstk

npm

npm install -g @localstack/lstk

Binary

Download the binary for your platform from the GitHub Releases and add it to your PATH.

Start lstk

lstk start

The first execution initiates a browser-based login flow. Subsequent starts use credentials stored in your system keyring.

Update lstk

lstk update

For more details, see the lstk documentation.

LocalStack CLI

The LocalStack CLI provides the full command set for managing LocalStack capabilities such as Cloud Pods, Extensions, and advanced state workflows.

Requirement: You must have a working Docker installation before proceeding.

Install LocalStack CLI

Linux

You can download the pre-built binary for your architecture using the link below:

x86-64

ARM64

or use the curl commands below:

For x86-64:

curl --output localstack-cli-2026.5.0-linux-amd64-onefile.tar.gz \
    --location https://github.com/localstack/localstack-cli/releases/download/v2026.5.0/localstack-cli-2026.5.0-linux-amd64-onefile.tar.gz

For ARM64:

curl --output localstack-cli-2026.5.0-linux-arm64-onefile.tar.gz \
    --location https://github.com/localstack/localstack-cli/releases/download/v2026.5.0/localstack-cli-2026.5.0-linux-arm64-onefile.tar.gz

Then extract the LocalStack CLI from the terminal:

sudo tar xvzf localstack-cli-2026.5.0-linux-*-onefile.tar.gz -C /usr/local/bin

Alternative: Homebrew on Linux

If you are using Homebrew for Linux, you can install the LocalStack CLI directly from our official LocalStack tap:

brew install localstack/tap/localstack-cli

macOS

You can install the LocalStack CLI using Brew directly from our official LocalStack tap:

brew install localstack/tap/localstack-cli

Alternative: Binary Download

You may download the binary for your architecture using the links below:

Intel (AMD64)

Apple Silicon (ARM64)

or use the curl commands below:

For Intel (AMD64):

curl --output localstack-cli-2026.5.0-darwin-amd64-onefile.tar.gz \
    --location https://github.com/localstack/localstack-cli/releases/download/v2026.5.0/localstack-cli-2026.5.0-darwin-amd64-onefile.tar.gz

For Apple Silicon (ARM64):

curl --output localstack-cli-2026.5.0-darwin-arm64-onefile.tar.gz \
    --location https://github.com/localstack/localstack-cli/releases/download/v2026.5.0/localstack-cli-2026.5.0-darwin-arm64-onefile.tar.gz

Then extract the LocalStack CLI from the terminal:

sudo tar xvzf localstack-cli-2026.5.0-darwin-*-onefile.tar.gz -C /usr/local/bin

Windows

You can download the pre-built binary for your architecture using the link below:

Intel (AMD64)

Then extract the archive and execute the binary in PowerShell.

Other/Python

If you cannot use the binary releases of LocalStack, you can install the Python distribution.

Please make sure to install the following before moving ahead:

• Python
• pip

Next install the LocalStack CLI in your Python environment by running:

python3 -m pip install --upgrade localstack

Note

To download a specific version of LocalStack CLI, replace <version> with the required version from release page.

python3 -m pip install localstack==<version>

macOS Sierra?

If you have problems with permissions in macOS Sierra, install with:

python3 -m pip install --user localstack

Danger

Do not use sudo or the root user when starting LocalStack. It should be installed and started entirely under a local non-root user.

Start LocalStack CLI

To verify that the LocalStack CLI was installed correctly, you can check the version in your terminal:

localstack --version

Output

LocalStack CLI 2026.5.0

You are all set!

Note

To start LocalStack, you must first set up your auth token.

Once you’ve set up your auth token, you can start LocalStack with the following command:

localstack start # start localstack in background with -d flag

     __                     _______ __             __
  / /   ____  _________ _/ / ___// /_____ ______/ /__
 / /   / __ \/ ___/ __ `/ /\__ \/ __/ __ `/ ___/ //_/
/ /___/ /_/ / /__/ /_/ / /___/ / /_/ /_/ / /__/ ,<
/_____/\____/\___/\__,_/_//____/\__/\__,_/\___/_/|_|

- LocalStack CLI: 2026.5.0
- Profile: default
- App: https://app.localstack.cloud

[12:47:13] starting LocalStack in Docker mode 🐳                       localstack.py:494
         preparing environment                                       bootstrap.py:1240
         configuring container                                       bootstrap.py:1248
         starting container                                          bootstrap.py:1258
[12:47:15] detaching                                                   bootstrap.py:1262

Update LocalStack CLI

The LocalStack CLI allows you to easily update the different components of LocalStack. To check the various options available for updating, run:

localstack update --help

Usage: localstack update [OPTIONS] COMMAND [ARGS]...

  Update different LocalStack components.

Options:
  -h, --help  Show this message and exit.

Commands:
  all             Update all LocalStack components
  docker-images   Update docker images LocalStack depends on
  localstack-cli  Update LocalStack CLI

Note

Updating the LocalStack CLI using localstack update localstack-cli and localstack update all will work only if it was installed from the Python distribution. If it was installed using the pre-built binary or via Brew, please run the installation steps again to update to the latest version.

For more details, see the LocalStack CLI documentation.

Container and orchestration tools

Use these methods when you need explicit container configuration, want to run LocalStack alongside other services, or deploy LocalStack in CI and Kubernetes environments. For everyday local development, lstk or the LocalStack CLI is usually simpler.

Docker Compose

Use Docker Compose when you want a reusable configuration file that can be shared across a team or checked into a project repository. Create a docker-compose.yml with the following configuration:

services:
  localstack:
    container_name: '${LOCALSTACK_DOCKER_NAME:-localstack-main}'
    image: localstack/localstack
    ports:
      - '127.0.0.1:4566:4566' # LocalStack Gateway
      - '127.0.0.1:4510-4559:4510-4559' # external services port range
      - '127.0.0.1:443:443' # LocalStack HTTPS Gateway
    environment:
      # Activate LocalStack for AWS: https://docs.localstack.cloud/getting-started/auth-token/
      - LOCALSTACK_AUTH_TOKEN=${LOCALSTACK_AUTH_TOKEN:?} # required for Pro
      # LocalStack configuration: https://docs.localstack.cloud/references/configuration/
      - DEBUG=${DEBUG:-0}
      - PERSISTENCE=${PERSISTENCE:-0}
    volumes:
      - '${LOCALSTACK_VOLUME_DIR:-./volume}:/var/lib/localstack'
      - '/var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock'

Execute docker compose up to start.

Docker CLI

Use the Docker CLI for one-off starts or when you want to test a container configuration before moving it into Compose:

docker run \
  --rm -it \
  -p 127.0.0.1:4566:4566 \
  -p 127.0.0.1:4510-4559:4510-4559 \
  -p 127.0.0.1:443:443 \
  -e LOCALSTACK_AUTH_TOKEN=${LOCALSTACK_AUTH_TOKEN:?} \
  -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
  localstack/localstack

Note

The Docker Compose and Docker CLI examples above use the same runtime settings:

• The 4566 port exposes the LocalStack Gateway.
• The 4510-4559 range exposes external service ports used by services that bind additional endpoints.
• The 443 port exposes the LocalStack HTTPS Gateway.
• The Docker socket mount is required for services that start additional containers, such as Lambda.
• Docker reuses a local image if one already exists. Pull explicitly or pin an image tag, such as localstack/localstack:<version>, when you need reproducible CI or team environments.
• If you use Docker bridge networking, container name resolution may not work as expected from other containers. Prefer the default LocalStack networking setup unless you have a specific reason to customize it.
• Configuration variables can be prefixed with LOCALSTACK_ in Docker. For instance, setting LOCALSTACK_PERSISTENCE=1 is equivalent to PERSISTENCE=1. For more details, see the Docker images, configuration, and networking documentation.

Helm (Kubernetes)

Deploy LocalStack to a Kubernetes cluster:

helm repo add localstack-repo https://helm.localstack.cloud
helm upgrade --install localstack localstack-repo/localstack

Graphical user interfaces (GUIs)

LocalStack Desktop

Manage local instances via a standalone desktop application. Download here.

Docker Desktop extension

Install the official extension to manage LocalStack directly from the Docker Desktop.

Troubleshooting

The LocalStack CLI installation is successful, but I cannot execute localstack

If you can successfully install LocalStack using pip but you cannot use it in your terminal, you most likely haven’t set up your operating system’s / terminal’s PATH variable (in order to tell them where to find programs installed via pip).

• If you are using Windows, you can enable the PATH configuration when installing Python, as described in the official docs of Python.
• If you are using a macOS or Linux operating system, please make sure that the PATH is correctly set up - either system wide, or in your terminal.

As a workaround you can call the LocalStack CLI python module directly:

python3 -m localstack.cli.main

The localstack CLI does not start the LocalStack container

If you are using the localstack CLI to start LocalStack, but the container is not starting, please check the following:

• Uncheck the Use kernel networking for UDP option in Docker Desktop (Settings → Resources → Network) or follow the steps in our documentation to disable it.
• Start LocalStack with a specific DNS address:

DNS_ADDRESS=0 localstack start

• Remove port 53 as indicated in our standard docker-compose.yml file.

How should I access the LocalStack logs on my local machine?

You can now avail logging output and error reporting using LocalStack logs. To access the logs, run the following command:

LocalStack CLI

localstack logs

lstk

lstk logs

AWS requests are now logged uniformly in the INFO log level (set by default or when DEBUG=0). The format is:

AWS <service>.<operation> => <http-status> (<error type>)

Requests to HTTP endpoints are logged in a similar way:

2022-09-12T10:39:21.165  INFO --- [   asgi_gw_0] localstack.request.aws     : AWS s3.ListBuckets => 200
2022-09-12T10:39:41.315  INFO --- [   asgi_gw_0] localstack.request.aws     : AWS s3.CreateBucket => 200
2022-09-12T10:40:04.662  INFO --- [   asgi_gw_0] localstack.request.aws     : AWS s3.PutObject => 200
2022-09-12T11:01:55.799  INFO --- [   asgi_gw_0] localstack.request.http    : GET / => 200

How should I share the LocalStack logs for troubleshooting?

You can share the LocalStack logs with us to help us identify issues. To share the logs, call the diagnostic endpoint:

curl -s localhost:4566/_localstack/diagnose | gzip -cf > diagnose.json.gz

Ensure that the diagnostic endpoint is run after you have tried reproducing the affected task. After running the task, run the diagnostic endpoint and share the archive file with your team members or LocalStack Support.

My application cannot reach LocalStack over the network

We have extensive network troubleshooting documentation available here.

If this does not solve your problem then please reach out to LocalStack Support.

Next steps

Now that you’ve completed installation, proceed to the Auth Token guide to activate LocalStack and prepare your environment for local development.