Fakecloud

Abstract

1. Introduction

fakecloud is a free, open-source local AWS emulator for integration testing and local development. Single binary, no account, no auth token, no paid tier. Point your AWS SDK at http://localhost:4566 and it works.

In March 2026, LocalStack replaced its open-source Community Edition with a proprietary image that requires an account and auth token. fakecloud exists so teams can keep a fully local AWS testing workflow without one.

Works as a drop-in for LocalStack in CI, with Terraform (endpoints block), CDK (cdklocal), or any AWS SDK in any language. Other install options (Homebrew, Cargo, Docker, Docker Compose, source) and full guides: fakecloud.dev/docs/getting-started.

2. Objective

Free, open-source AWS emulator. LocalStack alternative: 105 services, 7,506 operations, true 100% Smithy conformance (248,557/248,557 variants pass). No account, no auth token, no paid tier.

This project demonstrates how Rust, AWS, Terraform can be applied to a real-world Blockchain & Cloud Computing problem.

4. Technology Stack

• Install: curl -fsSL https://fakecloud.dev/install.sh | bash
• Run: fakecloud (listens on http://localhost:4566)
• Configure AWS SDK endpoint to http://localhost:4566 with dummy credentials (access_key=test, secret_key=test)
• Docs: https://fakecloud.dev/llms.txt
• Run: fakecloud (listens on http://localhost:4566)
• Configure endpoint_url to http://localhost:4566 with dummy credentials
• Docs: https://fakecloud.dev/llms.txt

5. System Requirements

General requirements for this technology stack — check the README for exact versions.

• Rust toolchain (rustup / cargo)
• Git (to clone the repository)

6. Installation & Setup

git clone https://github.com/faiscadev/fakecloud.git
cd fakecloud

curl -fsSL https://fakecloud.dev/install.sh | bash   # or: brew install fakecloud
fakecloud

aws --endpoint-url http://localhost:4566 sqs create-queue --queue-name my-queue

Full setup instructions are in the project README.

7. Future Enhancements

Suggested extensions you can add to make this your own project.

• Add a CI/CD pipeline with GitHub Actions
• Deploy to a public test network or cloud free tier
• Add monitoring and cost alerts

8. Viva / Review Questions

Common questions examiners ask for projects in this domain.

1. Why does this problem need a blockchain or cloud-native design?
2. Explain the smart contract / infrastructure components and how they interact.
3. How are gas costs or cloud costs kept under control?
4. How is the system secured (keys, IAM, access control)?
5. How would the solution scale to many more users?

9. Source Code & License

This project is developed by faiscadev and published on GitHub under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0. Please follow the license terms and credit the original author when you use or modify this code.