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Google Cloud in-a-box

Google Cloud in-a-box

Give Your Agents a Local Cloud.

LocalCloud is a local Google Cloud emulator: one Docker container that serves 25 Google Cloud services on localhost, so developers, CI jobs, and AI coding agents can run Google Cloud code without a GCP account, credentials, or billing.

Build, test and experiment with Google Cloud on your computer—for you and your AI agents.

A laptop running LocalCloud on a desk, connected to local Google Cloud services. — $0 costNo setupFast development

Build, test and experiment with Google Cloud on your computer—for you and your AI agents.

Quick Start — install the CLI Compare with LocalStack and Google emulators

Quick Start Explore the services →

brew install LocalGCloud/tap/localcloud

Free for OSS developers. No account or license key required. OSS terms

No account or license key. Free during the public preview, and free for open-source projects after it. CLI releases are Sigstore-signed with SHA-256 checksums.

25

Google Cloud services

each with documented compatibility limits
1

Docker container

persistent data on localhost ports the CLI picks

A laptop showing LocalCloud services running locally with readiness panels and Google Cloud service icons. — $0 costNo setupFast development

For developers

Build and experiment with Google Cloud services locally.

For CI

Fast, repeatable environments in your pipelines.

For AI agents

Give your coding agents a local cloud to work with.

For developers

Build and experiment with Google Cloud services locally.

Fast, repeatable environments in your pipelines.

For AI agents

Give your coding agents a local cloud to work with.

Ready to try it? Set up LocalCloud on your computer using the steps below.

Install the CLI

Choose the installation channel for your host.
curl -fsSL https://local.cloud/install.sh | sh
brew install LocalGCloud/tap/localcloud
Start LocalCloud and open the console

Check Docker, start on localhost-only ports, confirm readiness, configure this shell, and open the console. If a default port is already in use, the CLI picks another one. Use the endpoint values it returns.
```
localcloud doctor
localcloud start --local-only
curl -fsS http://localhost:5380/readiness
eval "$(localcloud env)"
localcloud console
```

CLI 0.1.7, released 2026-10-01 · Checksums and Sigstore bundles · Changelog · Homebrew tap · License terms

Standard SDK workflows

Use supported Google Cloud clients with the local endpoints returned by localcloud env.

Faster inner loop

Stay local while you build and test. Switch to shared cloud environments when ready.

Fully inspectable

Built-in console, health endpoints, env export, and seeded sample data make the runtime transparent.

Service catalog

25 services, running locally

Databases

Databases

Transactional, document, wide-column, relational, and cache workflows.

Document CRUD, query, and collection workflows; opt-in to save memory.

Row mutation, read, table administration, and PostgreSQL-backed data workflows. Pro tier, free during preview.

Spanner data and administration workflows over gRPC and REST. Pro tier, free during preview.

gRPC :5386 · HTTP/REST :5387

AlloyDB cluster and instance control-plane workflows.

Memorystore (Redis/Valkey)

Valkey-backed RESP data workflows.

Local control-plane and MySQL data-plane workflows.

HTTP/REST :5380 · PostgreSQL :5391 · MySQL :5406

Messaging & Workflow

Messaging & Workflow

Events, jobs, scheduling, and orchestration.

Topic, subscription, publish, pull, and acknowledgement workflows.

Cloud Tasks

Queue and task lifecycle workflows.

Cloud Scheduler

Schedule and job lifecycle workflows.

gRPC + HTTP/REST :5380

Cloud Workflows

Workflow deployment and execution workflows.

Compute & Runtime

Compute & Runtime

Function, container, cluster, VM, and AI control-plane workflows.

Cloud Functions (2nd Gen)

Second-generation function control-plane workflows.

Cluster workflows with opt-in k3d runtime integration. Pro tier, free during preview.

gRPC :5380 · k3d :5443

Service and revision workflows with host-runtime integration. Pro tier, free during preview.

Security

Security

Secret, identity, and cryptographic API workflows.

Secret Manager

Secret and version lifecycle workflows for local development.

IAM policy API workflows for local development.

Key-management and cryptographic workflows. Pro tier, free during preview.

gRPC + HTTP/REST :5380

Operations

Operations

Projects, service usage, billing metadata, logs, and metrics.

Cloud Resource Manager

Project lifecycle workflows for local development.

HTTP/REST :5380

Service Usage

Service enablement and metadata workflows.

HTTP/REST :5380

Cloud Billing

Billing-account, budget, and cost metadata workflows.

HTTP/REST :5380

Cloud Logging

Log ingestion, listing, metrics, and sink workflows.

Cloud Monitoring

Time-series, metric-descriptor, alerting, and dashboard workflows.

Storage

Storage

Buckets, objects, and local file workflows.

Cloud Storage

Bucket and object lifecycle workflows for local SDK and API development.

HTTP/REST :5382

Analytics

Analytics

Local data processing, warehouse, and query workflows.

Dataset, table, query, scripting, and API workflows.

HTTP/REST :5388 · gRPC :5389

Dataproc cluster and job workflows in serverless and cluster modes with Docker execution.

Auxiliary Integration APIs

Auxiliary Integration APIs

Data lookup and fixture seeding APIs for other cloud services (e.g. BigQuery external tables); not offered as an individual Google Cloud service.

Google Sheets

Auxiliary read-only values lookup API for BigQuery external tables and fixture seeding, selected by exact A1 range.

HTTP/REST :5380

Where to go next

Guides for Google Cloud local development

AI agents

A local cloud for AI coding agents

A code sandbox isolates where an agent runs. LocalCloud gives that code a cloud to talk to, with no credentials by default.

Emulator

Run BigQuery locally

Develop BigQuery dataset, query, and API workflows locally, with per-operation status and documented limits.

Comparison

LocalCloud vs the alternatives

Balanced comparisons against LocalStack, Google's own emulators, and hosted agent sandboxes.

CI / CD

Local GCP integration testing

Run integration checks against local endpoints with health gates, pinned image identity, and explicit production validation.

Guide

How to run Google Cloud locally

Install the CLI, start a runtime that listens only on localhost, and configure workflows across every available service.

Reference

Local cloud and agent glossary

Precise definitions for agent environment, cloud emulator, credentialless testing, and the terms around them.

Questions

Questions developers and agents ask

How does LocalCloud compare with LocalStack and Google's own emulators?

LocalStack emulates AWS and Snowflake, not Google Cloud; teams on both clouds run both. Google ships separate emulators for Bigtable, Datastore, Firestore, Pub/Sub and Spanner through the Google Cloud CLI, and the Firebase Local Emulator Suite for Firebase products. The Google Cloud CLI has no BigQuery or Cloud Storage emulator. Single-service community emulators typically cover one Google Cloud service each, such as BigQuery or Cloud Storage; coverage and fidelity vary by project. LocalCloud runs 25 Google Cloud services, including BigQuery and Cloud Storage, in one Docker container, using Google's Firestore emulator and a Spanner emulator built from Google's open-source emulator.

Sources reviewed October 5, 2026.

Local options for Google Cloud development compared, sources reviewed October 5, 2026
	LocalCloud	Google emulators (gcloud)	LocalStack	Community emulators
Google Cloud services	25 Google Cloud services in one Docker container	Five: Bigtable, Datastore, Firestore, Pub/Sub and Spanner, each started on its own	None; LocalStack covers AWS and Snowflake	Typically one Google Cloud service each, such as BigQuery or Cloud Storage
BigQuery and Cloud Storage	Both, alongside Pub/Sub, Spanner, Firestore and the rest of the stack	No BigQuery or Cloud Storage emulator	No	Separate projects, one per service
Data across restarts	Stored in a named Docker volume that survives restarts	Pub/Sub keeps data for the emulator session; the Spanner emulator keeps data in memory only	Not applicable to Google Cloud	Varies by project
License	Proprietary Public Preview License	Google tooling; the Spanner emulator is open source (Apache-2.0)	Proprietary plans; current releases need an account and auth token since March 23, 2026	Open-source licenses that vary by project
Cost and sign-up	Free during the public preview, with no account or license key; open-source projects stay free after it	Installed with the Google Cloud CLI	Free Hobby plan for non-commercial use; paid plans for commercial use	Free

Full comparison with sources · LocalStack for Google Cloud

Is LocalCloud free, and do I need an account?

LocalCloud is free during the public preview for individuals and organizations, including for-profit companies, for development, testing, CI, evaluation and internal pilots. You don't need an account, a payment method or a license key. Open-source projects stay free after the preview ends, and preview releases keep their terms.

Pricing · License

What do I need to run it?

Docker. The CLI runs on macOS 13+ and Linux with glibc 2.35+ (Ubuntu 22.04 equivalent), and any Docker host can run the agentcloud/localcloud image directly. The CLI gives the container 4 GB of memory by default; the quick start runs it on localhost-only ports.

Install the CLI · Manual Docker path

Does my data leave my machine?

Your service data stays in a Docker volume on your machine. The runtime sends pseudonymous usage and diagnostic reports; set LOCALCLOUD_TELEMETRY=false in the container's environment to stop them. Tools and jobs you connect can still send data elsewhere.

Can AI coding agents use LocalCloud?

Yes. Agents get a Google Cloud target on localhost with no credentials or billing project by default, so agent-written code can't create real cloud resources by mistake. Point an agent at the agent guide, or copy the AGENTS.md template into your repository. Agent builders can write to agent@local.cloud.

Agent guide · AGENTS.md template

Trust

Check it before you install it

Signed CLI releases
Every CLI release ships SHA-256 checksums and Sigstore bundles from its GitHub Actions release workflow, and the install script checks the checksum before installing.

CLI releases · Changelog
Image SBOM and provenance
The agentcloud/localcloud image carries an SPDX software bill of materials and SLSA build provenance for linux/amd64 and linux/arm64.

How to inspect them · Docker Hub
Your data stays local
Service data lives in a Docker volume on your machine. Usage telemetry is pseudonymous and turns off with LOCALCLOUD_TELEMETRY=false.

Privacy
Published compatibility
Every service lists what runs locally and where its limits are, reviewed October 9, 2026.

Compatibility
Preview and open-source terms
Preview releases keep their terms, and open-source projects stay free after the preview ends.

License · Licensing summary
A team you can reach
Email info@local.cloud for questions, licensing, privacy or security reports. AI agents and integrations: agent@local.cloud.

Contact · Security

Verify it yourself

Check the signature on the CLI 0.1.7 checksums

curl -fsSLO https://github.com/LocalGCloud/localcloud-cli/releases/download/v0.1.7/SHA256SUMS
curl -fsSLO https://github.com/LocalGCloud/localcloud-cli/releases/download/v0.1.7/SHA256SUMS.sigstore.json
cosign verify-blob SHA256SUMS \
  --bundle SHA256SUMS.sigstore.json \
  --certificate-identity-regexp '^https://github\.com/LocalGCloud/localcloud-cli/\.github/workflows/cli-release\.yml@refs/tags/v' \
  --certificate-oidc-issuer https://token.actions.githubusercontent.com

Inspect the runtime image SBOM and provenance

docker buildx imagetools inspect agentcloud/localcloud:latest --format '{{ json .SBOM }}'
docker buildx imagetools inspect agentcloud/localcloud:latest --format '{{ json .Provenance }}'

The security page explains each step and how to report a vulnerability.