Configure Amazon Bedrock AgentCore lifecycle settings

The LifecycleConfiguration input parameter to CreateAgentRuntime lets you manage the lifecycle of runtime sessions and resources in Amazon Bedrock AgentCore Runtime. This configuration helps optimize resource utilization by automatically cleaning up idle sessions and preventing long-running instances from consuming resources indefinitely.

You can also configure lifecycle settings for an existing AgentCore Runtime with the UpdateAgentRuntime operation.

Configuration attributes

Constraints

Default behavior

When LifecycleConfiguration is not provided or contains null values, the platform applies the following logic:

Default values

Create an AgentCore Runtime with lifecycle configuration

You can specify a lifecycle configuration when you create an AgentCore Runtime.

import boto3

client = boto3.client('bedrock-agentcore-control', region_name='us-west-2')

try:
    response = client.create_agent_runtime(
        agentRuntimeName='my_agent_runtime',
        agentRuntimeArtifact={
            'containerConfiguration': {
                'containerUri': '123456789012.dkr.ecr.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/my-agent:latest'
            }
        },
        lifecycleConfiguration={
            'idleRuntimeSessionTimeout': 1800,  # 30 minutes, configurable
            'maxLifetime': 14400  # 4 hours
        },
        networkConfiguration={'networkMode': 'PUBLIC'},
        roleArn='arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/AgentRuntimeRole'
    )

    print(f"Agent runtime created: {response['agentRuntimeArn']}")
except client.exceptions.ValidationException as e:
    print(f"Validation error: {e}")
except Exception as e:
    print(f"Error creating agent runtime: {e}")

Update the lifecycle configuration for an AgentCore Runtime

You can update lifecycle configuration for an existing AgentCore Runtime.

import boto3

client = boto3.client('bedrock-agentcore-control', region_name='us-west-2')

agent_runtime_id = 'my_agent_runtime'

try:
    response = client.update_agent_runtime(
        agentRuntimeId=agent_runtime_id,
        agentRuntimeArtifact={
            'containerConfiguration': {
                'containerUri': '123456789012.dkr.ecr.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/my-agent:latest'
            }
        },
        networkConfiguration={'networkMode': 'PUBLIC'},
        roleArn='arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/AgentRuntimeRole',
        lifecycleConfiguration={
            'idleRuntimeSessionTimeout': 600,   # 10 minutes
            'maxLifetime': 7200                 # 2 hours
        }
    )

    print("Lifecycle configuration updated successfully")
except client.exceptions.ValidationException as e:
    print(f"Validation error: {e}")
except client.exceptions.ResourceNotFoundException:
    print("Agent runtime not found")
except Exception as e:
    print(f"Error updating configuration: {e}")

Get the lifecycle configuration for an AgentCore Runtime

You can get lifecycle configuration for an existing AgentCore Runtime.

import boto3

client = boto3.client('bedrock-agentcore-control', region_name='us-west-2')

def get_lifecycle_config():
    try:
        response = client.get_agent_runtime(agentRuntimeId="my_agent_runtime")

        lifecycle_config = response.get('lifecycleConfiguration', {})
        idle_timeout = lifecycle_config.get('idleRuntimeSessionTimeout', 900)
        max_lifetime = lifecycle_config.get('maxLifetime', 28800)

        print(f"Current configuration:")
        print(f"  Idle timeout: {idle_timeout}s ({idle_timeout//60} minutes)")
        print(f"  Max lifetime: {max_lifetime}s ({max_lifetime//3600} hours)")

        return lifecycle_config

    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Error retrieving configuration: {e}")
        return None

# Usage
config = get_lifecycle_config()
print(config)

Validation and constraints

The lifecycle configuration includes validation rules and constraints to prevent invalid configurations. If your request violates any of the following rules, it fails with a ValidationException:

Common validation errors

import boto3

client = boto3.client('bedrock-agentcore-control', region_name='us-west-2')

try:
    client.create_agent_runtime(
        agentRuntimeName='invalid_config_agent',
        agentRuntimeArtifact={
            'containerConfiguration': {
                'containerUri': '123456789012.dkr.ecr.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/my-agent:latest'
            }
        },
        lifecycleConfiguration={
            'idleRuntimeSessionTimeout': 3600,  # 1 hour, configurable
            'maxLifetime': 1800                 # 30 minutes - INVALID!
        },
        networkConfiguration={'networkMode': 'PUBLIC'},
        roleArn='arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/AgentRuntimeRole',
        )
except client.exceptions.ValidationException as e:
    print(f"Validation failed: {e}")
    # Output: idleRuntimeSessionTimeout must be less than or equal to maxLifetime

Validation helper function

MICROVM_MAX_SECONDS = 28800     # 8 hours
INSTANCES_MAX_SECONDS = 1209600  # 14 days
MIN_SECONDS = 60


def validate_lifecycle_config(idle_timeout, max_lifetime, uses_capacity_provider=False):
    """Validate lifecycle configuration before API call"""
    errors = []

    # The maximum depends on the compute type of the runtime
    maximum = INSTANCES_MAX_SECONDS if uses_capacity_provider else MICROVM_MAX_SECONDS

    # Check range constraints
    if not (MIN_SECONDS <= idle_timeout <= maximum):
        errors.append(f"idleRuntimeSessionTimeout must be between {MIN_SECONDS} and {maximum} seconds")

    if not (MIN_SECONDS <= max_lifetime <= maximum):
        errors.append(f"maxLifetime must be between {MIN_SECONDS} and {maximum} seconds")

    # Check relationship constraint
    if idle_timeout > max_lifetime:
        errors.append(f"idleRuntimeSessionTimeout ({idle_timeout}s) must be <= maxLifetime ({max_lifetime}s)")

    return errors

# Usage
errors = validate_lifecycle_config(3600, 1800)
if errors:
    for error in errors:
        print(f"Validation error: {error}")
else:
    print("Configuration is valid")

Lifecycle settings and runtime sessions

The lifecycle configuration settings you define are applied to each individual runtime session. When you invoke an agent with a specific runtimeSessionId , AgentCore Runtime provisions a dedicated microVM for that session. The lifecycle timeouts ( idleRuntimeSessionTimeout and maxLifetime ) govern the lifecycle of that specific microVM instance.

import boto3
import json
import uuid

client = boto3.client('bedrock-agentcore', region_name='us-west-2')

# Each unique runtimeSessionId gets its own microVM with lifecycle settings applied
session_id_user_1 = str(uuid.uuid4())  # User 1's session
session_id_user_2 = str(uuid.uuid4())  # User 2's session

# First invocation for User 1 - creates new microVM with lifecycle timers
response1 = client.invoke_agent_runtime(
    agentRuntimeArn='arn:aws:bedrock-agentcore:us-west-2:123456789012:runtime/my-agent',
    runtimeSessionId=session_id_user_1,  # Dedicated microVM for this session
    payload=json.dumps({"prompt": "Hello from User 1"}).encode()
)

# First invocation for User 2 - creates separate microVM with its own lifecycle timers
response2 = client.invoke_agent_runtime(
    agentRuntimeArn='arn:aws:bedrock-agentcore:us-west-2:123456789012:runtime/my-agent',
    runtimeSessionId=session_id_user_2,  # Different microVM for this session
    payload=json.dumps({"prompt": "Hello from User 2"}).encode()
)

# Subsequent invocations to same session reuse the existing microVM
# The idle timeout resets with each invocation to the same session
response3 = client.invoke_agent_runtime(
    agentRuntimeArn='arn:aws:bedrock-agentcore:us-west-2:123456789012:runtime/my-agent',
    runtimeSessionId=session_id_user_1,  # Reuses User 1's existing microVM
    payload=json.dumps({"prompt": "Follow-up from User 1"}).encode()
)

Key points about lifecycle settings and sessions:

Best practices

Follow these best practices when configuring lifecycle settings for optimal resource utilization and user experience.

Recommendations

Common patterns