🎉 Aspire.Hosting.LocalStack Release Candidate - Community Feedback

[Blind-Striker]

I'm excited to share that Aspire.Hosting.LocalStack has reached Release Candidate (RC) status! 🎉

This integration provides a production-ready solution for local AWS development using LocalStack with .NET Aspire. Before I finalize the 9.4.0 release, I'd love to gather feedback from the community.

What's Ready for Testing

✅ Core Features (Stable)

• Auto-configuration: Single UseLocalStack() call automatically detects and configures all AWS resources
• Manual configuration: Fine-grained control with explicit WithReference() calls
• AWS service integration: CloudFormation templates, CDK stacks, and service clients
• Automatic fallback: Falls back to real AWS when LocalStack is disabled
• Container lifecycle management: Configurable session/project lifetimes

✅ Complete Examples

• Provisioning Examples: SNS, SQS, DynamoDB with CloudFormation & CDK
• Serverless Examples: Lambda functions with API Gateway and hybrid emulators

✅ Integration & Testing

• Comprehensive unit and integration test coverage
• CI/CD pipeline with automated testing
• Compatible with .NET 8 and .NET 9

What I'm Looking For

🔍 API Surface Feedback

• Is the UseLocalStack() auto-configuration intuitive?
• Are the manual configuration options sufficient for complex scenarios?
• Any missing extension methods or configuration options?

📚 Documentation & Developer Experience

• Are the examples clear and comprehensive?
• Is the configuration guidance helpful?
• Any missing documentation or unclear concepts?

🔧 Technical Integration

• How well does the automatic AWS fallback work in your scenarios?
• Any issues with the environment variable configuration transfer?
• Integration with different AWS services and patterns?

How to Provide Feedback

💬 Share Your Experience

Preferred Methods:

• GitHub Discussions - General feedback and questions
• GitHub Issues - Bug reports and specific feature requests
• Pull Requests - Documentation improvements and code contributions

What to Include:

• Your use case and scenario
• What worked well vs what was challenging
• Suggestions for API improvements
• Performance observations
• Integration pain points

Timeline

• RC Period: Now through mid-August to September 2025
• Feedback Collection: Ongoing during RC period
• API Finalization: Based on community input
• 9.4.0 Release: Target late September 2025

Questions to Consider

1. Configuration Complexity: Does the auto-configuration handle your AWS resource setup, or do you need manual configuration? Why?

2. Developer Workflow: How does this integration fit into your daily development process? Does it save time vs manual LocalStack setup?

3. Production Readiness: Are you confident using the automatic AWS fallback in production scenarios?

4. Missing Features: What LocalStack or AWS Aspire features would you like to see supported?

5. Documentation Gaps: What additional examples or guides would be helpful?

🙏 Thank You

Your feedback is crucial for ensuring Aspire.Hosting.LocalStack meets the needs of the .NET Aspire community. I appreciate you taking the time to test and share your experiences.

Contact: For questions about this feedback process, reach out via GitHub Discussions or create an issue.

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Happy coding with LocalStack and .NET Aspire! 🚀