From 65e32904b3b14050dd0d1ceafd83fe99c3039525 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Harsh Mishra <erbeusgriffincasper@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2026 01:49:12 +0530
Subject: [PATCH] Add LocalStack auth token requirement and standardize setup

- Add license requirement bullet to Prerequisites
- Add auth guard to start target in Makefile
- Add Start LocalStack section to README
- Upgrade actions/checkout and setup-node to v4
- Add LOCALSTACK_AUTH_TOKEN to main.yml workflow
- Replace LOCALSTACK_API_KEY with LOCALSTACK_AUTH_TOKEN in pods.yml
---
 .github/workflows/main.yml |  5 +++--
 .github/workflows/pods.yml |  4 ++--
 Makefile                   |  3 ++-
 README.md                  | 11 ++++++++---
 4 files changed, 15 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-)

diff --git a/.github/workflows/main.yml b/.github/workflows/main.yml
index 3effc28..cd5b1ca 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/main.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/main.yml
@@ -20,10 +20,10 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
-        uses: actions/checkout@v3
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
       - name: Setup Node.js
-        uses: actions/setup-node@v3
+        uses: actions/setup-node@v4
         with:
           node-version: 20
 
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Start LocalStack
         env:
+          LOCALSTACK_AUTH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.LOCALSTACK_AUTH_TOKEN }}
           DNS_ADDRESS: 0
         run: |
           pip install localstack awscli-local[ver1]
diff --git a/.github/workflows/pods.yml b/.github/workflows/pods.yml
index 6f30f81..4cd27bc 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/pods.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/pods.yml
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ jobs:
           image-tag: 'latest'
           use-pro: 'true'
         env:
-          LOCALSTACK_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.LOCALSTACK_API_KEY }}
+          LOCALSTACK_AUTH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.LOCALSTACK_AUTH_TOKEN }}
 
       - name: Load the Cloud Pod 
         uses: LocalStack/setup-localstack/cloud-pods@main
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ jobs:
           name: loan-broker-infra
           action: load
         env:
-          LOCALSTACK_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.LOCALSTACK_API_KEY }}
+          LOCALSTACK_AUTH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.LOCALSTACK_AUTH_TOKEN }}
 
       - name: Run integration tests 
         run: |
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index b638cad..6d967a3 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -20,7 +20,8 @@ deploy:
 
 ## Start LocalStack in detached mode
 start:
-	localstack start -d
+	@test -n "${LOCALSTACK_AUTH_TOKEN}" || (echo "LOCALSTACK_AUTH_TOKEN is not set. Find your token at https://app.localstack.cloud/workspace/auth-token"; exit 1)
+	@LOCALSTACK_AUTH_TOKEN=$(LOCALSTACK_AUTH_TOKEN) localstack start -d
 
 ## Stop the Running LocalStack container
 stop:
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 60355a0..208c4d9 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -34,15 +34,20 @@ The following diagram shows the architecture that this sample application builds
 
 ## Prerequisites
 
-- LocalStack Pro with the [`localstack` CLI](https://docs.localstack.cloud/getting-started/installation/#localstack-cli).
+- A valid [LocalStack for AWS license](https://localstack.cloud/pricing). Your license provides a [`LOCALSTACK_AUTH_TOKEN`](https://docs.localstack.cloud/getting-started/auth-token/) to activate LocalStack.
+- [`localstack` CLI](https://docs.localstack.cloud/getting-started/installation/#localstack-cli).
 - [Cloud Development Kit](https://docs.localstack.cloud/user-guide/integrations/aws-cdk/) with the [`cdklocal`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/aws-cdk-local) installed.
 - [AWS CLI](https://docs.localstack.cloud/user-guide/integrations/aws-cli/) with the [`awslocal` wrapper](https://docs.localstack.cloud/user-guide/integrations/aws-cli/#localstack-aws-cli-awslocal).
 - [Node.js](https://nodejs.org/en/download), and [`yarn`](https://yarnpkg.com/).
 
-Start LocalStack Community edition:
+## Start LocalStack
+
+Start LocalStack with the `LOCALSTACK_AUTH_TOKEN` pre-configured:
 
 ```shell
-DEBUG=1 localstack start
+export LOCALSTACK_AUTH_TOKEN=<your-auth-token>
+make start
+make ready
 ```
 
 We specified DEBUG=1 to get the printed LocalStack logs directly in the terminal to help us see the event-driven architecture in action. If you prefer running LocalStack in detached mode, you can add the `-d` flag to the `localstack start` command, and use Docker Desktop to view the logs.