Using LocalStack from a JetBrains IDE

Updated 17 August 2026

LocalStack emulates AWS services on your machine. Tools reach it the same way they reach AWS — by pointing the SDK at a different endpoint.

The three things that must line up

1. Endpoint. Usually http://localhost:4566 for the community edition.
2. Credentials. LocalStack does not verify them, but the SDK still requires something. Dummy values such as test / test are the convention.
3. Region. Must match the region your resources were created in, commonly us-east-1.

If you are hitting real AWS by mistake

That means the endpoint override was not applied. The clearest symptom is an authentication or permission error against your real account — the request left your machine. Check that the endpoint field is set on the connection you are actually using, not on a different profile.

Not every AWS plugin exposes an endpoint field. If there is nowhere to put a custom endpoint, that tool cannot talk to LocalStack at all.