diff --git a/.github/workflows/build-images.yml b/.github/workflows/build-images.yml
index 66a5b255..4819a65a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build-images.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build-images.yml
@@ -546,6 +546,8 @@ jobs:
           API_WEBHOOK_ENDPOINT: https://api-staging.knowhereto.ai/v1/internal/s3-events
           SNS_TOPIC_ARN: arn:aws:sns:us-east-1:107424103509:knowhere-staging-s3-events
           QSTASH_CALLBACK_BASE_URL: https://api-staging.knowhereto.ai/api/v1
+          API_CPU: "256"
+          API_MEMORY: "1024"
           WORKER_CPU: "2048"
           WORKER_MEMORY: "4096"
         shell: bash
@@ -772,6 +774,8 @@ jobs:
           API_WEBHOOK_ENDPOINT: https://api.knowhereto.ai/v1/internal/s3-events
           SNS_TOPIC_ARN: arn:aws:sns:us-east-1:107424103509:knowhere-prod-s3-events
           QSTASH_CALLBACK_BASE_URL: https://api.knowhereto.ai/api/v1
+          API_CPU: "512"
+          API_MEMORY: "2048"
           WORKER_CPU: "2048"
           WORKER_MEMORY: "4096"
         shell: bash
diff --git a/deploy/ecs/README.md b/deploy/ecs/README.md
index dd0742b4..7b7d6170 100644
--- a/deploy/ecs/README.md
+++ b/deploy/ecs/README.md
@@ -32,6 +32,8 @@ FRONTEND_URL=https://staging.knowhereto.ai \
 API_WEBHOOK_ENDPOINT=https://api-staging.knowhereto.ai/v1/internal/s3-events \
 SNS_TOPIC_ARN=arn:aws:sns:us-east-1:107424103509:knowhere-staging-s3-events \
 QSTASH_CALLBACK_BASE_URL=https://api-staging.knowhereto.ai/api/v1 \
+API_CPU=256 \
+API_MEMORY=1024 \
 WORKER_CPU=2048 \
 WORKER_MEMORY=4096 \
 python deploy/ecs/render_task_definitions.py --environment staging --output-dir /tmp/knowhere-ecs-rendered
@@ -39,6 +41,10 @@ python deploy/ecs/render_task_definitions.py --environment staging --output-dir
 
 The output directory is deployment-only and must not be committed. The renderer fails on missing inputs, unresolved placeholders, or either long-lived S3 credential variable.
 
+The staging workflow keeps the API at 256 CPU / 1024 MiB. The production release
+workflow sets the API to 512 CPU / 2048 MiB (2 GiB) and the worker to 2048 CPU /
+4096 MiB, so production API memory remains at 2 GiB across future releases.
+
 ## Staging workflow prerequisites
 
 The staging workflow in `.github/workflows/build-images.yml` expects these GitHub Actions secrets:
diff --git a/deploy/ecs/render_task_definitions.py b/deploy/ecs/render_task_definitions.py
index 458cb8a7..33e2b9e5 100644
--- a/deploy/ecs/render_task_definitions.py
+++ b/deploy/ecs/render_task_definitions.py
@@ -32,6 +32,8 @@
     "API_WEBHOOK_ENDPOINT",
     "SNS_TOPIC_ARN",
     "QSTASH_CALLBACK_BASE_URL",
+    "API_CPU",
+    "API_MEMORY",
     "WORKER_CPU",
     "WORKER_MEMORY",
 )
diff --git a/deploy/ecs/task-definition-api.staging.json b/deploy/ecs/task-definition-api.staging.json
index 0e1013c9..0b4af2c5 100644
--- a/deploy/ecs/task-definition-api.staging.json
+++ b/deploy/ecs/task-definition-api.staging.json
@@ -4,8 +4,8 @@
   "executionRoleArn": "${EXECUTION_ROLE_ARN}",
   "networkMode": "awsvpc",
   "requiresCompatibilities": ["FARGATE"],
-  "cpu": "256",
-  "memory": "1024",
+  "cpu": "${API_CPU}",
+  "memory": "${API_MEMORY}",
   "runtimePlatform": {
     "cpuArchitecture": "X86_64",
     "operatingSystemFamily": "LINUX"
diff --git a/deploy/ecs/test_render_task_definitions.py b/deploy/ecs/test_render_task_definitions.py
index b9c1f569..ff7efbee 100644
--- a/deploy/ecs/test_render_task_definitions.py
+++ b/deploy/ecs/test_render_task_definitions.py
@@ -33,6 +33,8 @@
     "API_WEBHOOK_ENDPOINT": "https://api-staging.knowhereto.ai/v1/internal/s3-events",
     "SNS_TOPIC_ARN": "arn:aws:sns:us-east-1:107424103509:knowhere-staging-s3-events",
     "QSTASH_CALLBACK_BASE_URL": "https://api-staging.knowhereto.ai/api/v1",
+    "API_CPU": "256",
+    "API_MEMORY": "1024",
     "WORKER_CPU": "2048",
     "WORKER_MEMORY": "4096",
 }
@@ -155,6 +157,20 @@ def test_staging_worker_preserves_evidence_selected_capacity(tmp_path: Path) ->
     assert definition["memory"] == "4096"
 
 
+def test_staging_api_preserves_selected_capacity(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    """API capacity remains at the verified staging size."""
+    output_path: Path = tmp_path / "task-definition-api.staging.json"
+    render_template(
+        TEMPLATE_DIRECTORY / "task-definition-api.staging.json",
+        output_path,
+        RENDER_VARIABLES,
+    )
+    definition: dict[str, object] = json.loads(output_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+
+    assert definition["cpu"] == "256"
+    assert definition["memory"] == "1024"
+
+
 def test_renderer_rejects_forbidden_s3_credential_variable() -> None:
     """Task definitions must never inject long-lived S3 credentials."""
     definition: dict[str, object] = {