--- title: "The anti-polling pattern for Step Functions" url: https://daily.dev/posts/the-anti-polling-pattern-for-step-functions-uyas3awbo source_url: https://theburningmonk.com/2026/02/the-anti-polling-pattern-for-step-functions/ type: article source: "theburningmonk.com" published: 2026-02-06T04:16:33.990Z updated: 2026-02-06T04:16:57.119Z tags: ["aws", "architecture", "serverless", "aws-lambda"] reading_time: 4 upvotes: 3 comments: 0 language: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # The anti-polling pattern for Step Functions **[theburningmonk.com](https://daily.dev/sources/theburningmonk)** · 4 min read · 3 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Polling long-running processes in Step Functions is inefficient and costly due to state transition charges. An event-driven alternative uses Lambda with task tokens, DynamoDB for state storage, and EventBridge to listen for completion events, eliminating the Wait-Poll-Choice loop. This pattern works with services that emit events or support callback URLs. The new Lambda Durable Functions feature simplifies both approaches with waitForCondition for polling and waitForCallback for event-driven implementations, reducing state transitions and costs while treating waiting as a first-class operation. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Weighing the benefits of AWS Lambda’s durable functions](https://daily.dev/posts/weighing-the-benefits-of-aws-lambda-s-durable-functions-qmmbps0ur) · InfoWorld · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [AWS Step Functions: How to Orchestrate Workflows Waiting for 3rd Parties](https://daily.dev/posts/aws-step-functions-how-to-orchestrate-workflows-waiting-for-3rd-parties-1bkeay5gk) · cloudonaut · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#aws](https://daily.dev/tags/aws), [#architecture](https://daily.dev/tags/architecture), [#serverless](https://daily.dev/tags/serverless), [#aws-lambda](https://daily.dev/tags/aws-lambda) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/the-anti-polling-pattern-for-step-functions-uyas3awbo)