# AWS publishes open-source local emulator for AWS APIs

published: 2026-11-12T02:05:54.970Z
topic: infrastructure
source: https://github.com/aws/aws-emulator
url: https://aiagentnews.io/stories/aws-publishes-open-source-local-emulator-for-aws-apis

AWS has released AWS Emulator, a local program that serves AWS API endpoints so software can be tested without calling AWS. The project lists no additional service fee and says it is meant for building and testing, not production workloads or security testing.

AWS Emulator runs on a developer's own machine, a development server, or in continuous integration. Requests are sent to the emulator rather than AWS, so tests work against emulated resources and no AWS account is needed. The AWS CLI or an AWS SDK is pointed at the emulator through environment variables.

There are two modes. Server mode works with the CLI and any SDK, installed as an RPM or Debian package on Linux or run in a container on Windows and macOS. Embedded mode is for Rust tests: the emulator is added as a dev-dependency and runs in-process, with one isolated instance per test and no endpoint to configure.

Building from source is supported on Linux for x86_64 and aarch64 and needs a Rust toolchain, a C compiler and at least 100 GB of free disk. Telemetry is on by default and can be disabled with a command-line flag, an environment variable, a config file or an embedded option. The repository does not accept pull requests, and bug reports go to GitHub Issues.

## Why it matters if you build agents

Teams building agents that call AWS can run integration tests locally or in CI without AWS credentials or live resources. Telemetry is enabled by default, so anyone running it in a controlled environment should check the setting and turn it off if needed. Fidelity gaps are tracked per service in the repository, so checking those before relying on a service is worthwhile.