AWS Resource Naming Conventions: Best Practices for Organized and Scalable Cloud Infrastructure

Managing resources in Amazon Web Services (AWS) requires a well-defined naming convention to maintain organization, ensure consistency, and make your infrastructure easier to manage as it scales.

This guide covers general AWS resource naming rules, service-specific conventions with regional considerations, and best practices for your AWS environment.

General AWS Naming Rules

Before diving into specific resource types, understand these general naming rules that apply to most AWS resources:

Use Lowercase Letters, Numbers, and Hyphens: Most resource names should contain only lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens. This avoids case sensitivity issues and ensures uniformity.

Start and End with Alphanumeric Characters: Resource names must begin and end with either a letter or number, never with a hyphen or special character.

Avoid Consecutive Hyphens: While hyphens are allowed as separators, avoid using them consecutively to maintain readability.

Observe Maximum Lengths: Resource name length limits vary by service. Generally, keep names under 64 characters for compatibility across services.