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Nahuel Nucera
Nahuel Nucera

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Getting started testing AWS with MiniStack in under 10 minutes

#docker #aws #devops #cloud

You don't need an AWS account to test your AWS code.

We just published an AWS Testing 101 guide — a step-by-step tutorial that takes you from zero to testing S3, DynamoDB, SQS, and Lambda on your laptop. No credentials, no cloud costs, no cleanup.

The problem

Every developer who writes AWS code hits this wall:

  • "I don't want to create resources in a real AWS account just to test"
  • "My CI pipeline needs AWS but I don't want to pay for it"
  • "I accidentally left a DynamoDB table running and got billed"

The answer is a local AWS emulator. Run it on your machine, point your SDK at localhost:4566, and your code thinks it's talking to AWS.

The setup 

docker run -p 4566:4566 nahuelnucera/ministack
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That's it. 35+ AWS services running locally.

What the guide covers

1. S3 — Create buckets and upload files 

import boto3

s3 = boto3.client("s3",
    endpoint_url="http://localhost:4566",
    aws_access_key_id="test",
    aws_secret_access_key="test",
    region_name="us-east-1",
)

s3.create_bucket(Bucket="my-bucket")
s3.put_object(Bucket="my-bucket", Key="hello.txt", Body=b"Hello, local AWS!")
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2. DynamoDB — Create tables and query data 

ddb = boto3.client("dynamodb", endpoint_url="http://localhost:4566",
    aws_access_key_id="test", aws_secret_access_key="test", region_name="us-east-1")

ddb.create_table(
    TableName="users",
    KeySchema=[{"AttributeName": "userId", "KeyType": "HASH"}],
    AttributeDefinitions=[{"AttributeName": "userId", "AttributeType": "S"}],
    BillingMode="PAY_PER_REQUEST",
)

ddb.put_item(TableName="users", Item={
    "userId": {"S": "user-001"},
    "name": {"S": "Alice"},
})
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3. SQS — Send and receive messages 

sqs = boto3.client("sqs", endpoint_url="http://localhost:4566",
    aws_access_key_id="test", aws_secret_access_key="test", region_name="us-east-1")

queue = sqs.create_queue(QueueName="my-queue")
sqs.send_message(QueueUrl=queue["QueueUrl"], MessageBody="Hello from SQS!")
msgs = sqs.receive_message(QueueUrl=queue["QueueUrl"])
print(msgs["Messages"][0]["Body"])  # Hello from SQS!
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4. Lambda — Deploy and invoke functions 

import zipfile, io

# Package a function
buf = io.BytesIO()
with zipfile.ZipFile(buf, "w") as zf:
    zf.writestr("index.py", 'def handler(event, ctx): return {"message": "Hello from Lambda!"}\n')

lam = boto3.client("lambda", endpoint_url="http://localhost:4566",
    aws_access_key_id="test", aws_secret_access_key="test", region_name="us-east-1")

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

resp = lam.invoke(FunctionName="my-function")
print(resp["Payload"].read())  # {"message": "Hello from Lambda!"}
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Why this matters

  • No AWS account needed — test on day one
  • No cost — run thousands of operations for free
  • No cleanup — stop the container, everything's gone
  • CI/CD ready — same Docker image in GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins
  • Terraform compatible — point your provider at localhost:4566

The full guide

The complete tutorial with more examples and explanations is at:

👉 ministack.org/getting-started.html

MiniStack is the best alternative to LocalStack, it's open-source, MIT licensed, and free forever: github.com/Nahuel990/ministack

docker run -p 4566:4566 nahuelnucera/ministack
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One command. 35+ services. Zero cost.

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