# AWS adds free ECS metric that counts tasks still running during shutdown

_Published Tuesday, October 13, 2026 at 8:14 PM EDT · Infrastructure · Latest · Tier 2 — Notable_

Amazon Web Services announced LiveTaskCount, a free metric for its Elastic Container Service that counts actively running tasks, including those still running while transitioning to a stopped state. AWS says the metric is available in all regions where ECS operates and requires no enrollment in CloudWatch Container Insights.

The broader count includes tasks draining connections during a reduction in capacity, supporting autoscaling and capacity planning. The existing RunningTaskCount metric counts tasks whose current and desired states are both RUNNING. AWS also announced that this existing metric is free for Container Insights users, with the pricing change applying automatically from October 1, 2026.

## Sources

- [Recent Announcements](https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2026/10/ecs-service-metrics/)

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Canonical: https://techandbusiness.org/newswire/5iyuX-tEhMxX_0IRrsWNl4
Published: 2026-10-14T00:14:48.705Z
Story chronology: 2026-10-13T22:00:00.000Z
Retrieved: 2026-10-14T03:50:02.870Z
Publisher: Tech & Business (techandbusiness.org)