This article shows how to run a local AWS\u2011like S3 environment with LocalStack in Docker, manage buckets with Terraform, and inspect everything visually using an S3 GUI client such as S3 Browser (or any S3\u2011compatible desktop app).<\/p>\n
You will end up with:<\/p>\n
docker-compose.yml<\/code>, exposing S3 on http:\/\/localhost:4566<\/code>.<\/li>\n- Terraform creating an S3 bucket, enabling versioning, and adding a lifecycle rule.<\/li>\n
- S3 Browser (or a similar S3 GUI) connected to LocalStack so you can see buckets and object versions visually.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Rationale:<\/strong> this mirrors a real AWS workflow (Infra as Code + GUI) while remaining entirely local and safe to experiment with.<\/p>\n
\n2. LocalStack with docker-compose.yml<\/code><\/h2>\nCreate a working directory, e.g. localstack-s3-terraform<\/code>, and add docker-compose.yml<\/code>:<\/p>\nversion: "3.8"\n\nservices:\n localstack:\n image: localstack\/localstack:latest\n container_name: localstack\n ports:\n - "4566:4566" # Edge port: all services, including S3\n - "4510-4559:4510-4559"\n environment:\n - SERVICES=s3 # Only start S3 for this demo\n - DEBUG=1\n - DOCKER_HOST=unix:\/\/\/var\/run\/docker.sock\n volumes:\n - ".\/localstack-data:\/var\/lib\/localstack"\n - "\/var\/run\/docker.sock:\/var\/run\/docker.sock"<\/code><\/pre>\nKey aspects:<\/p>\n
\n- Port 4566<\/strong> is the single \u201cedge\u201d endpoint for S3 and other services in current LocalStack.<\/li>\n
SERVICES=s3<\/code> keeps the environment focused and startup fast.<\/li>\n.\/localstack-data<\/code> persists LocalStack state (buckets and objects) between restarts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nStart LocalStack:<\/p>\n
docker compose up -d<\/code><\/pre>\n
\n3. Terraform config with versioning and lifecycle<\/h2>\n
In the same directory, create main.tf<\/code> containing the AWS provider configured for LocalStack and S3 with versioning + lifecycle policy:<\/p>\nterraform {\n required_providers {\n aws = {\n source = "hashicorp\/aws"\n version = "~> 5.0"\n }\n }\n}\n\nprovider "aws" {\n region = "ap-southeast-2"\n access_key = "test"\n secret_key = "test"\n skip_credentials_validation = true\n skip_metadata_api_check = true\n skip_requesting_account_id = true\n s3_use_path_style = true\n\n endpoints {\n s3 = "http:\/\/localhost:4566"\n }\n}\n\nresource "aws_s3_bucket" "demo" {\n bucket = "demo-bucket-localstack"\n}\n\nresource "aws_s3_bucket_versioning" "demo_versioning" {\n bucket = aws_s3_bucket.demo.id\n\n versioning_configuration {\n status = "Enabled"\n }\n}\n\nresource "aws_s3_bucket_lifecycle_configuration" "demo_lifecycle" {\n bucket = aws_s3_bucket.demo.id\n\n rule {\n id = "expire-noncurrent-30-days"\n status = "Enabled"\n\n filter {\n prefix = "" # apply to all objects\n }\n\n noncurrent_version_expiration {\n noncurrent_days = 30\n }\n }\n}<\/code><\/pre>\nImportant Terraform points:<\/p>\n
\n- Provider<\/strong>: points to
http:\/\/localhost:4566<\/code> so all S3 calls go to LocalStack, not AWS.<\/li>\n- Dummy credentials<\/strong> (
test<\/code> \/ test<\/code>) are sufficient; LocalStack doesn\u2019t validate real AWS keys.<\/li>\n- Versioning<\/strong> is modeled as a separate resource to clearly express bucket behavior.<\/li>\n
- Lifecycle configuration<\/strong> is modeled explicitly as well, aligning with AWS best practices and lifecycle examples.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Initialize and apply:<\/p>\n
terraform init\nterraform apply<\/code><\/pre>\nConfirm when prompted; Terraform will create the bucket, enable versioning, and attach the lifecycle rule.<\/p>\n
\n4. Configuring S3 Browser (or similar GUI) for LocalStack<\/h2>\n
Now that LocalStack is running and Terraform has created your bucket, you connect S3 Browser (or any S3 GUI) to LocalStack instead of AWS.<\/p>\n
In S3 Browser, create a new account\/profile with something like:<\/p>\n
\n- Account name<\/strong>:
LocalStack<\/code> (any label you like).<\/li>\n- S3 endpoint \/ server<\/strong>:
http:\/\/localhost:4566<\/code><\/li>\n- Access key<\/strong>:
test<\/code><\/li>\n- Secret key<\/strong>:
test<\/code><\/li>\n- Region<\/strong>:
ap-southeast-2<\/code><\/li>\n<\/ul>\nMake sure your client is configured to use the custom endpoint instead of the standard AWS endpoints (this is usually done in an \u201cS3 Compatible Storage\u201d as the Account Type<\/strong>).<\/p>\nOnce saved and connected:<\/p>\n
\n- You should see the bucket
demo-bucket-localstack<\/code> in the bucket list.<\/li>\n- Opening the bucket lets you upload, delete, and browse objects, just as if you were talking to real S3.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This article shows how to run a local AWS\u2011like S3 environment with LocalStack in Docker, manage buckets with Terraform, and inspect everything visually using an S3 GUI client such as S3 Browser (or any S3\u2011compatible desktop app). 1. Overview of the setup You will end up with: LocalStack running via docker-compose.yml, exposing S3 on http:\/\/localhost:4566. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[94],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ronella.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2117"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ronella.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ronella.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ronella.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ronella.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2117"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ronella.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2117\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2118,"href":"https:\/\/www.ronella.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2117\/revisions\/2118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ronella.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ronella.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ronella.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}