FAQ
Short answers to common questions about pogi.
Is pogi free?
Yes. pogi is MIT licensed. There is no account, no license key, no sign-up and no paid plan.
Do I need Docker?
Not for the core. S3, SQS, SNS, DynamoDB, Lambda in Python and Node.js, and most other services run inside the pogi program. Services that run real software need Docker: RDS, ECS, Cloud SQL and Azure SQL, for example. The coverage page lists them. Any engine with the Docker API works: Docker, Podman, Colima or OrbStack.
Does it run on Windows?
Yes. Release builds exist for Windows, on Intel and Arm. The easiest way to install is Scoop. You can also download the .zip from the releases page. See Install pogi. Run pogi doctor to check what your machine has.
Does it phone home?
No. We searched pogi's code for outgoing network calls and found none that send usage data, check for updates or contact a pogi server. An idle pogi makes no outgoing connections.
pogi reaches out only when you ask it to:
- Webhooks and HTTP endpoints you configure, such as an SNS HTTP subscription, an EventBridge API destination, a Cloud Tasks HTTP task or an Event Grid webhook. They go where you point them.
- Container images. Services that run in Docker make your Docker engine pull images from a registry.
pogi lambda-sdks, which runsnpmandpipto download the AWS SDKs for native Lambda functions.- Mail relay, only if you set
--smtp-relay.
Does it need real cloud credentials?
No. pogi env sets test credentials. The default AWS key and secret are both test. Never put real credentials into a pogi setup.
What port does it use?
7644, which is "pogi" on a phone keypad. Change it with --port. To keep LocalStack's port, run pogi start --port 4566.
Can other machines or containers reach it?
By default pogi listens only on your own computer. To accept other machines, set --host 0.0.0.0 together with --allow-external. Inside Docker or Podman, --allow-external is already on, so publish the port as -p 127.0.0.1:7644:7644 to keep it on your machine. Anyone who can reach the port can use every API, so never open it to a network you don't trust.
How do I keep my data between runs?
Start pogi with --persist, or save a named snapshot.
How is pogi different from LocalStack?
pogi covers AWS, Google Cloud and Azure in one program, and needs no account. See the comparison table. To move over, follow Migrate from LocalStack.
Which services does it cover?
181 services: 131 for AWS, 26 for Google Cloud and 24 for Azure. The coverage page lists them all.
Does it work with Terraform and the CDK?
Yes. pogi tf prints a provider block for Terraform, and the CDK works with AWS_ENDPOINT_URL set. See Connect your tools.
Can AI coding agents use it?
Yes. pogi is an MCP server (a tool server that coding agents can call): claude mcp add pogi -- pogi mcp. See CLI.
Something doesn't work. What do I check?
Run pogi doctor. It checks the server, the runtimes, Docker and the local certificate authority. Troubleshoot covers the common problems.