Floci: Fast, Free and Open Local AWS Emulation for Developers

Cloud-native development often depends on managed services such as S3, DynamoDB, SQS, Lambda, IAM and more. But developing and testing directly against real cloud accounts can be slow, costly, hard to reproduce and inconvenient for CI environments.

This talk introduces Floci, a free and open-source local AWS emulator designed for development, testing and CI workflows. Floci lets developers run AWS-shaped services locally, point existing AWS SDKs, CLI tools, Terraform, CDK, OpenTofu or test suites at a local endpoint, and continue using familiar workflows without needing a real cloud account, auth token or paid feature gate.

The session will cover what problem Floci solves, how it compares to typical cloud-mocking approaches, how to get started with Docker and how teams can use it to make local development and automated testing faster, cheaper and more reproducible. I will also discuss its FOSS-first philosophy, MIT licensing, contribution opportunities and why open local cloud emulation matters for developer freedom.

Attendees will learn:

1. Why local cloud emulation is useful for development, testing and CI.

2. How Floci helps developers run AWS-compatible workflows locally.

3. How to start Floci with Docker and point AWS tools to a local endpoint.

4. Where Floci fits compared to mocks, real cloud environments and other emulators.

5. How developers can use, test, report issues and contribute to the project.