`localstack/localstack:latest` will require auth token from March 23 — LocalStack module docs & examples need updating

[HarshCasper]

Hey folks 👋

I'm Harsh from the LocalStack team. Wanted to flag an upcoming change that will directly affect users of the LocalStack module in this library.

What's changing: Starting March 23, 2026, localstack/localstack:latest on Docker Hub will consolidate into a single unified image that requires authentication via a LOCALSTACK_AUTH_TOKEN. The free Community image, as it exists today, will no longer be available under that tag without an auth token set.

What this means for this repo:

The LocalstackContainer in packages/modules/localstack pulls localstack/localstack by default to spin up the container during tests. Any user who instantiates LocalstackContainer after March 23 without a LOCALSTACK_AUTH_TOKEN set will hit an authentication error and their tests will fail immediately.

The places most likely to need updating:

• The LocalStack module docs and README, which don't currently mention auth token setup as a prerequisite
• The module source (packages/modules/localstack), where passing LOCALSTACK_AUTH_TOKEN as an environment variable should be documented or facilitated
• The CI pipeline (.github/workflows/checks.yml) if it runs LocalStack-based tests without an auth token

What users will need to do:

1. Sign up for a free LocalStack account at [localstack.cloud](https://localstack.cloud/)
2. Generate an auth token from the LocalStack Web App
3. Set LOCALSTACK_AUTH_TOKEN as an environment variable when starting the container

With testcontainers-node, this would look like:

const localstack = await new LocalstackContainer()
  .withEnvironment({ LOCALSTACK_AUTH_TOKEN: process.env.LOCALSTACK_AUTH_TOKEN ?? "" })
  .start();

The good news: A free tier is staying — no one has to pay. CI credits are now unlimited on all plans, including free, and open-source projects like this one can apply for free access to paid plans.

Full details in our announcements:

• https://blog.localstack.cloud/the-road-ahead-for-localstack/
• https://blog.localstack.cloud/localstack-single-image-next-steps/
• https://blog.localstack.cloud/2026-upcoming-pricing-changes/

Happy to help with any doc updates, review PRs, or answer questions. Let us know if there's anything we can do to make this easier — and thanks for maintaining the LocalStack module for the Node.js community! 🙏

[PreAgile]

Opened a PR for this: #1277. Added an auth token requirement section to the LocalStack module docs with a code example using .withEnvironment().