/dynamodb

name: dynamodb
description: AWS DynamoDB NoSQL database for scalable data storage. Use when designing table schemas, writing queries, configuring indexes, managing capacity, implementing single-table design, or troubleshooting performance issues.
last_updated: "2026-01-07"
doc_source: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/

AWS DynamoDB

Amazon DynamoDB is a fully managed NoSQL database service providing fast, predictable performance at any scale. It supports key-value and document data structures.

Table of Contents

• [Core Concepts](#core-concepts)
• [Common Patterns](#common-patterns)
• [CLI Reference](#cli-reference)
• [Best Practices](#best-practices)
• [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting)
• [References](#references)

Core Concepts

Keys

| Key Type | Description | |----------|-------------| | **Partition Key (PK)** | Required. Determines data distribution | | **Sort Key (SK)** | Optional. Enables range queries within partition | | **Composite Key** | PK + SK combination |

Secondary Indexes

| Index Type | Description | |------------|-------------| | **GSI (Global Secondary Index)** | Different PK/SK, separate throughput, eventually consistent | | **LSI (Local Secondary Index)** | Same PK, different SK, shares table throughput, strongly consistent option |

Capacity Modes

| Mode | Use Case | |------|----------| | **On-Demand** | Unpredictable traffic, pay-per-request | | **Provisioned** | Predictable traffic, lower cost, can use auto-scaling |

Common Patterns

Create a Table

**AWS CLI:**

aws dynamodb create-table \
  --table-name Users \
  --attribute-definitions \
    AttributeName=PK,AttributeType=S \
    AttributeName=SK,AttributeType=S \
  --key-schema \
    AttributeName=PK,KeyType=HASH \
    AttributeName=SK,KeyType=RANGE \
  --billing-mode PAY_PER_REQUEST

**boto3:**

import boto3

dynamodb = boto3.resource('dynamodb')

table = dynamodb.create_table(
    TableName='Users',
    KeySchema=[
        {'AttributeName': 'PK', 'KeyType': 'HASH'},
        {'AttributeName': 'SK', 'KeyType': 'RANGE'}
    ],
    AttributeDefinitions=[
        {'AttributeName': 'PK', 'AttributeType': 'S'},
        {'AttributeName': 'SK', 'AttributeType': 'S'}
    ],
    BillingMode='PAY_PER_REQUEST'
)

table.wait_until_exists()

Basic CRUD Operations

import boto3
from boto3.dynamodb.conditions import Key, Attr

dynamodb = boto3.resource('dynamodb')
table = dynamodb.Table('Users')

# Put item
table.put_item(
    Item={
        'PK': 'USER#123',
        'SK': 'PROFILE',
        'name': 'John Doe',
        'email': 'john@example.com',
        'created_at': '2024-01-15T10:30:00Z'
    }
)

# Get item
response = table.get_item(
    Key={'PK': 'USER#123', 'SK': 'PROFILE'}
)
item = response.get('Item')

# Update item
table.update_item(
    Key={'PK': 'USER#123', 'SK': 'PROFILE'},
    UpdateExpression='SET #name = :name, updated_at = :updated',
    ExpressionAttributeNames={'#name': 'name'},
    ExpressionAttributeValues={
        ':name': 'John Smith',
        ':updated': '2024-01-16T10:30:00Z'
    }
)

# Delete item
table.delete_item(
    Key={'PK': 'USER#123', 'SK': 'PROFILE'}
)

Query Operations

# Query by partition key
response = table.query(
    KeyConditionExpression=Key('PK').eq('USER#123')
)

# Query with sort key condition
response = table.query(
    KeyConditionExpression=Key('PK').eq('USER#123') & Key('SK').begins_with('ORDER#')
)

# Query with filter
response = table.query(
    KeyConditionExpression=Key('PK').eq('USER#123'),
    FilterExpression=Attr('status').eq('active')
)

# Query with projection
response = table.query(
    KeyConditionExpression=Key('PK').eq('USER#123'),
    ProjectionExpression='PK, SK, #name, email',
    ExpressionAttributeNames={'#name': 'name'}
)

# Paginated query
paginator = dynamodb.meta.client.get_paginator('query')
for page in paginator.paginate(
    TableName='Users',
    KeyConditionExpression='PK = :pk',
    ExpressionAttributeValues={':pk': {'S': 'USER#123'}}
):
    for item in page['Items']:
        print(item)

Batch Operations

# Batch write (up to 25 items)
with table.batch_writer() as batch:
    for i in range(100):
        batch.put_item(Item={
            'PK': f'USER#{i}',
            'SK': 'PROFILE',
            'name': f'User {i}'
        })

# Batch get (up to 100 items)
dynamodb = boto3.resource('dynamodb')
response = dynamodb.batch_get_item(
    RequestItems={
        'Users': {
            'Keys': [
                {'PK': 'USER#1', 'SK': 'PROFILE'},
                {'PK': 'USER#2', 'SK': 'PROFILE'}
            ]
        }
    }
)

Create GSI

aws dynamodb update-table \
  --table-name Users \
  --attribute-definitions AttributeName=email,AttributeType=S \
  --global-secondary-index-updates '[
    {
      "Create": {
        "IndexName": "email-index",
        "KeySchema": [{"AttributeName": "email", "KeyType": "HASH"}],
        "Projection": {"ProjectionType": "ALL"}
      }
    }
  ]'

Conditional Writes

from botocore.exceptions import ClientError

# Only put if item doesn't exist
try:
    table.put_item(
        Item={'PK': 'USER#123', 'SK': 'PROFILE', 'name': 'John'},
        ConditionExpression='attribute_not_exists(PK)'
    )
except ClientError as e:
    if e.response['Error']['Code'] == 'ConditionalCheckFailedException':
        print("Item already exists")

# Optimistic locking with version
table.update_item(
    Key={'PK': 'USER#123', 'SK': 'PROFILE'},
    UpdateExpression='SET #name = :name, version = version + :inc',
    ConditionExpression='version = :current_version',
    ExpressionAttributeNames={'#name': 'name'},
    ExpressionAttributeValues={
        ':name': 'New Name',
        ':inc': 1,
        ':current_version': 5
    }
)

CLI Reference

Table Operations

| Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | `aws dynamodb create-table` | Create