Runtime details
- Endpoints
- gRPC :24084
- Minimum tier
- pro
- Persistence
- service-data
- Documented workflows
- 7
7 documented workflows
Run Bigtable workflows locally
Wide-column data, administration, persistence, and query workflows.
Documented workflows
- instances/tables/families
- row mutations and reads
- cbt CLI compatibility
- localcloud console data browser
- data survives emulator restart
- materialized views (CMVs)
- new proto methods return Unimplemented (no panics)
Service boundaries
- [prod_only] Single-node emulator by design; clusters, multi-region, replication require Google infrastructure.
- GoogleSQL queries (ExecuteQuery/PrepareQuery) not supported — data-plane uses HBase-style API only.
- Change streams, app profiles, and logical views are not implemented in the emulator.
- Session protocol (OpenTable/OpenAuthorizedView/OpenMaterializedView) not implemented — not needed for correctness.
- snapshots and backups: Not supported locally. All 10 snapshot/backup RPCs return codes.Unimplemented: SnapshotTable, GetSnapshot, ListSnapshots, DeleteSnapshot, CreateBackup, GetBackup, UpdateBackup, DeleteBackup, ListBackups, RestoreTable. Also: CreateTableFromSnapshot, UndeleteTable.
- IAM policy management: Not supported locally. GetIamPolicy, SetIamPolicy, TestIamPermissions return codes.Unimplemented.
- LocalCloud Docker is intended to retain PostgreSQL-backed service data while the mounted /var/lib/localcloud volume is retained
- The machine-local cached artifact can use PostgreSQL or SQLite, but the LocalCloud Docker product is configured for PostgreSQL.
- Dependency identity, restart recovery, and the assembled LocalCloud image remain release-unverified.
FAQ
Common questions
How do I run Bigtable locally?
Install the LocalCloud host CLI, start the runtime, and load the generated environment values into your application process. Bigtable is then reachable at the endpoints the CLI reports, and standard Google Cloud clients resolve to localhost instead of googleapis.com.
Which environment variable points the SDK at the local Bigtable?
LocalCloud exports BIGTABLE_EMULATOR_HOST=localhost:24084. Read the value from the generated environment rather than assuming a fixed port, because occupied ports are remapped at startup.
What Bigtable workflows are documented locally?
7 Bigtable workflows are documented with operation-level status: instances/tables/families, row mutations and reads, cbt CLI compatibility, localcloud console data browser, data survives emulator restart, materialized views (CMVs), and more. The compatibility matrix lists the status of every operation.
Does the local Bigtable behave exactly like Google Cloud?
No. LocalCloud implements documented local workflows with published boundaries, and compatibility is narrower than managed Google Cloud. Validate behavior against real Bigtable before production deployment.
Can an AI coding agent use the local Bigtable?
Yes. Because no cloud credentials or billing project are required by default, agent-written Bigtable code can run against localhost without creating real cloud resources or charges.