# Continuous AWS Config recording in non-production environments Canonical: https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/continuous-aws-config-recording-in-non-production-environments By default, AWS Config is enabled in continuous recording mode. While this may be justified for production workloads where detailed auditability is... By: Jérémy Nancel Updated: 2026-09-28 [Cloud Efficiency Hub](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub) # Continuous AWS Config Recording in Non-Production Environments The short version By default, AWS Config is enabled in continuous recording mode. Jérémy Nancel AWS service [AWS Config](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/cloud-services/aws-config) Category [Other](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/service-category/other) Reference CER-0201 Type Excessive Ingestion or Processing ## Explanation Why the waste happens and who it affects. While this may be justified for production workloads where detailed auditability is critical, it is rarely necessary in non-production environments. Frequent changes in development or testing environments - such as redeploying Lambda functions, ECS tasks, or EC2 instances - generate large volumes of CIRs. This results in disproportionately high costs with minimal benefit to governance or compliance. Switching frequently changing resource types in non-production environments to daily recording reduces CIR volume significantly while maintaining sufficient visibility for tracking changes. ## Billing model The pricing dimensions that drive this cost. AWS Config charges per Configuration Item Recorded (CIR). Continuous mode generates a CIR for every resource change, while daily mode generates a maximum of one CIR per resource per day, and only if the resource changed. Daily CIRs are priced higher than continuous CIRs ($0.012 vs $0.003 per CIR in the US East (N. Virginia) pricing example), so daily recording lowers cost only for resources that change more than about four times per day. In non-production environments with frequent deployments or updates, continuous mode creates unnecessary cost without meaningful compliance value. ## How to detect 4 checks to find it in your estate. - Review whether AWS Config is set to continuous recording in non-production accounts or environments - Evaluate change frequency in development, QA, and staging systems to estimate unnecessary CIR volume - Confirm whether governance or compliance requirements justify continuous recording in these environments - Assess consistency of recording settings across production vs. non-production accounts ## How to fix 3 ways to remove the waste. - Update AWS Config settings in non-production accounts to daily recording frequency instead of continuous for resource types that change frequently, using recording frequency overrides to set this per resource type - Apply environment-specific configuration baselines to enforce lower granularity tracking outside of production - Validate that compliance and auditing needs remain satisfied after reducing recording frequency ## Documentation Vendor references for pricing and configuration. - [AWS Config Pricing aws.amazon.com](https://aws.amazon.com/config/pricing/) - [Recording AWS Resources with AWS Config docs.aws.amazon.com](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/config/latest/developerguide/select-resources.html) - [RecordingModeOverride docs.aws.amazon.com](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/config/latest/APIReference/API_RecordingModeOverride.html) ## Related inefficiencies [Browse the library](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub) - AWS Config CER-0228 ### [Excessive AWS Config Costs from Spot Instances](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/excessive-aws-config-costs-from-spot-instances) Spot Instances are designed to be short-lived, with frequent interruptions and replacements. When AWS Config continuously records every lifecycle change for these instances, it produces a large number of CIRs. This drives costs... Other - AWS Config CER-0137 ### [Unnecessarily High Recording Granularity in AWS Config](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/unnecessarily-high-recording-granularity-in-aws-config) Organizations frequently inherit continuous recording by default (e.g., through landing zones) without validating the business need for per-change granularity across all resource types and environments. In change-heavy accounts (ephemeral... Other - AWS Config CER-0135 ### [Unfiltered Recording of High-Churn Resource Types in AWS Config](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/unfiltered-recording-of-high-churn-resource-types-in-aws-config) By default, AWS Config can be set to record changes across all supported resource types, including those that change frequently, such as security group rules, IAM role policies, route tables, or network interfaces frequent ephemeral... Other --- Source: the public page above. Product screenshots and illustrative interfaces are examples, not live customer data.