diff --git a/docs/nix_services_setup.md b/docs/nix_services_setup.md
--- a/docs/nix_services_setup.md
+++ b/docs/nix_services_setup.md
@@ -6,10 +6,11 @@
 
 ## LocalStack
 
-We use LocalStack to emulate AWS services, allowing us to develop and test our services locally. To start LocalStack, run:
+We use LocalStack to emulate AWS services, allowing us to develop and test our services locally. To start LocalStack, run the following commands:
 
 ```
-comm-dev services start
+cd services
+./scripts/docker_localstack_up.sh
 ```
 
 Make sure your LocalStack resources are up to date:
diff --git a/services/scripts/docker_localstack_up.sh b/services/scripts/docker_localstack_up.sh
new file mode 100755
--- /dev/null
+++ b/services/scripts/docker_localstack_up.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+set -e
+
+# Start services
+comm-dev services start
+
+# Disable Nix-based localstack by checking for "localstack_main" container
+if docker ps | grep localstack_main &> /dev/null; then
+  echo "Disabling Nix-based localstack..." >&2
+  bash ../scripts/localstack_down.sh
+else
+  echo "Nix-based localstack is already disabled, skipping shutdown"
+fi
+
+# Start Docker Compose-based localstack
+if ! docker ps | grep localstack &> /dev/null; then
+  echo "Starting Docker compose-based localstack..." >&2
+  yarn init-local-cloud
+else
+  echo "Docker compose-based localstack is already running, skipping localstack initialization"
+fi