State Management
Save, load, and manage LocalStack state for reproducible development environments and state snapshots.
Capabilities
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Export and import state locally to files
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Save and load state to/from Cloud Pods (remote storage)
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Share state across teams via Cloud Pods
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Enable persistent state across container restarts
Local Snapshots (state export/import)
Local snapshots allow you to export LocalStack state to files and import them back. This works without requiring a Pro subscription.
Export State
Export current state to a local file
localstack state export my-state.zip
Export to a specific path
localstack state export /path/to/backup/state.zip
Import State
Import state from a local file
localstack state import my-state.zip
Import from a specific path
localstack state import /path/to/backup/state.zip
Use Cases for Local Snapshots
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Backup/restore: Save state before destructive operations
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CI/CD pipelines: Commit state files to version control for reproducible tests
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Offline workflows: Work with state files without cloud connectivity
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Quick snapshots: Fast local save/restore during development
Cloud Pods (pod save/load)
Cloud Pods store state in LocalStack's cloud platform, enabling team collaboration and remote state management.
Prerequisites
Cloud Pods require a LocalStack Pro subscription and auth token:
export LOCALSTACK_AUTH_TOKEN=<your-token>
Save to Cloud Pod
Save current state to a Cloud Pod
localstack pod save my-pod-name
Save with a message
localstack pod save my-pod-name --message "Initial setup with S3 and DynamoDB"
Load from Cloud Pod
Load state from a Cloud Pod
localstack pod load my-pod-name
Load and merge with existing state
localstack pod load my-pod-name --merge
List Cloud Pods
List all available Cloud Pods
localstack pod list
Delete Cloud Pods
Delete a Cloud Pod
localstack pod delete my-pod-name
Inspect Cloud Pods
View Cloud Pod details
localstack pod inspect my-pod-name
Use Cases for Cloud Pods
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Team collaboration: Share consistent development environments across team members
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Demo environments: Prepare and share demo-ready states
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Cross-machine development: Access the same state from different machines
Local Persistence
For automatic persistence across LocalStack restarts (without explicit export/import):
Enable local persistence
PERSISTENCE=1 localstack start -d
State is saved to .localstack/ directory
Survives container restarts
Comparison
Feature Local Snapshots (export/import) Cloud Pods (save/load)
Storage Local files LocalStack cloud
Pro required No Yes
Team sharing Manual file sharing Built-in
Version control Can commit files Cloud-managed
Offline use Yes No
Best Practices
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Use state export/import for local development and CI/CD pipelines
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Use Cloud Pods for team collaboration and shared environments
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Use descriptive names that indicate the state contents
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Enable PERSISTENCE=1 for simple state retention across restarts