---
name: giuseppe-trisciuoglio/aws-sdk-java-v2-dynamodb
source: https://app.decimal.ai/s/giuseppe-trisciuoglio-aws-sdk-java-v2-dynamodb@1/SKILL.md
source_sha256: fc2057bd7246
---

# AWS SDK for Java 2.x - Amazon DynamoDB

## Overview

Provides DynamoDB patterns using AWS SDK for Java 2.x with Enhanced Client for type-safe CRUD, queries, batch operations, transactions, and Spring Boot integration.

## When to Use

- CRUD operations on DynamoDB items
- Querying tables with sort keys or GSI
- Batch operations for multiple items
- Atomic transactions across tables
- Spring Boot integration with DynamoDB

## Instructions

1. Add AWS SDK DynamoDB dependencies to `pom.xml`
2. Configure client setup (low-level or Enhanced Client)
3. Define entity classes with `@DynamoDbBean` annotations
4. Perform operations using `DynamoDbTable` (CRUD, query, scan, batch, transactions)
5. Handle partial failures with retry logic and exponential backoff
6. Use repository pattern for Spring Boot integration

## Dependencies

Add to `pom.xml`:
```xml
<!-- Low-level DynamoDB client -->
<dependency>
    <groupId>software.amazon.awssdk</groupId>
    <artifactId>dynamodb</artifactId>
</dependency>

<!-- Enhanced client (recommended) -->
<dependency>
    <groupId>software.amazon.awssdk</groupId>
    <artifactId>dynamodb-enhanced</artifactId>
</dependency>
```
## Client Setup

### Low-Level Client
```java
import software.amazon.awssdk.regions.Region;
import software.amazon.awssdk.services.dynamodb.DynamoDbClient;

DynamoDbClient dynamoDb = DynamoDbClient.builder()
    .region(Region.US_EAST_1)
    .build();
```

### Enhanced Client (Recommended)
```java
import software.amazon.awssdk.enhanced.dynamodb.DynamoDbEnhancedClient;

DynamoDbEnhancedClient enhancedClient = DynamoDbEnhancedClient.builder()
    .dynamoDbClient(dynamoDb)
    .build();
```

## Entity Mapping

```java
@DynamoDbBean
public class Customer {

    @DynamoDbPartitionKey
    private String customerId;

    @DynamoDbAttribute("customer_name")
    private String name;

    private String email;

    @DynamoDbSortKey
    private String orderId;

    // Getters and setters
}
```

For complex entity mapping with GSIs and custom converters, see [Entity Mapping Reference](references/entity-mapping.md).

## CRUD Operations

### Basic Operations
```java
// Create or update item
DynamoDbTable<Customer> table = enhancedClient.table("Customers", TableSchema.fromBean(Customer.class));
table.putItem(customer);

// Get item
Customer result = table.getItem(Key.builder().partitionValue(customerId).build());

// Update item
return table.updateItem(customer);

// Delete item
table.deleteItem(Key.builder().partitionValue(customerId).build());
```

### Composite Key Operations
```java
// Get item with composite key
Order order = table.getItem(Key.builder()
    .partitionValue(customerId)
    .sortValue(orderId)
    .build());
```

## Query Operations

### Basic Query
```java
import software.amazon.awssdk.enhanced.dynamodb.model.QueryConditional;

QueryConditional queryConditional = QueryConditional
    .keyEqualTo(Key.builder()
        .partitionValue(customerId)
        .build());

List<Order> orders = table.query(queryConditional).items().stream()
    .collect(Collectors.toList());
```

### Advanced Query with Filters
```java
import software.amazon.awssdk.enhanced.dynamodb.Expression;

Expression filter = Expression.builder()
    .expression("status = :pending")
    .putExpressionValue(":pending", AttributeValue.builder().s("PENDING").build())
    .build();

List<Order> pendingOrders = table.query(r -> r
    .queryConditional(queryConditional)
    .filterExpression(filter))
    .items().stream()
    .collect(Collectors.toList());
```

For detailed query patterns, see [Advanced Operations Reference](references/advanced-operations.md).

## Scan Operations

> **Warning**: Scan reads entire table and consumes read capacity for all items. Prefer Query operations with partition keys or GSIs whenever possible.

**Validation before scan**:
- Confirm query with partition key is not feasible for your access pattern
- Verify table has sufficient provisioned read capacity or use on-demand mode
- Consider using pagination with `limit()` to control capacity consumption

```java
// Scan all items
List<Customer> allCustomers = table.scan().items().stream()
    .collect(Collectors.toList());

// Scan with filter
Expression filter = Expression.builder()
    .expression("points >= :minPoints")
    .putExpressionValue(":minPoints", AttributeValue.builder().n("1000").build())
    .build();

List<Customer> vipCustomers = table.scan(r -> r.filterExpression(filter))
    .items().stream()
    .collect(Collectors.toList());
```

## Batch Operations

### Batch Get
```java
import software.amazon.awssdk.enhanced.dynamodb.model.*;

List<Key> keys = customerIds.stream()
    .map(id -> Key.builder().partitionValue(id).build())
    .collect(Collectors.toList());

ReadBatch.Builder<Customer> batchBuilder = ReadBatch.builder(Customer.class)
    .mappedTableResource(table);

keys.forEach(batchBuilder::addGetItem);

BatchGetResultPageIterable result = enhancedClient.batchGetItem(r ->
    r.addReadBatch(batchBuilder.build()));

List<Customer> customers = result.resultsForTable(table).stream()
    .collect(Collectors.toList());
```

### Batch Write with Error Handling
```java
WriteBatch.Builder<Customer> batchBuilder = WriteBatch.builder(Customer.class)
    .mappedTableResource(table);

customers.forEach(batchBuilder::addPutItem);

BatchWriteItemEnhancedRequest request = BatchWriteItemEnhancedRequest.builder()
    .addWriteBatch(batchBuilder.build())
    .build();

BatchWriteResult result = enhancedClient.batchWriteItem(request);

// Validate: check for unprocessed items
if (!result.writeResponsesForTable(table).isEmpty()) {
    // Retry unprocessed items with exponential backoff
    Map<String, AttributeValue> unprocessed = result.writeResponsesForTable(table).get(0)
        .unprocessedAttributes();
    if (unprocessed != null && !unprocessed.isEmpty()) {
        enhancedClient.batchWriteItem(r -> r
            .addWriteBatch(WriteBatch.builder(Customer.class)
                .mappedTableResource(table)
                .addPutItemFromItem(unprocessed)
                .build()));
    }
}
```

## Transactions

### Transactional Write with Retry
```java
public void placeOrderWithRetry(Order order, Customer customer, int maxRetries) {
    int attempt = 0;
    while (attempt < maxRetries) {
        try {
            enhancedClient.transactWriteItems(r -> r
                .addPutItem(customerTable, customer)
                .addPutItem(orderTable, order));
            return;
        } catch (TransactionCanceledException e) {
            if (e.cancellationReasons().stream()
                .anyMatch(r -> r.code().equals("TransactionCanceledException")
                    && r.message().contains("throughput"))) {
                attempt++;
                if (attempt < maxRetries) {
                    try { Thread.sleep((long) Math.pow(2, attempt) * 100); }
                    catch (InterruptedException ie) { Thread.currentThread().interrupt(); }
                }
            } else {
                throw e; // Non-retryable error
            }
        }
    }
}
```

### Transactional Read
```java
TransactGetItemsEnhancedRequest request = TransactGetItemsEnhancedRequest.builder()
    .addGetItem(customerTable, customerKey)
    .addGetItem(orderTable, orderKey)
    .build();

List<Document> results = enhancedClient.transactGetItems(request);
```

## Spring Boot Integration

### Configuration
```java
@Configuration
public class DynamoDbConfiguration {

    @Bean
    public DynamoDbClient dynamoDbClient() {
        return DynamoDbClient.builder()
            .region(Region.US_EAST_1)
            .build();
    }

    @Bean
    public DynamoDbEnhancedClient dynamoDbEnhancedClient(DynamoDbClient dynamoDbClient) {
        return DynamoDbEnhancedClient.builder()
            .dynamoDbClient(dynamoDbClient)
            .build();
    }
}
```

### Repository Pattern
```java
@Repository
public class CustomerRepository {

    private final DynamoDbTable<Customer> customerTable;

    public CustomerRepository(DynamoDbEnhancedClient enhancedClient) {
        this.customerTable = enhancedClient.table("Customers", TableSchema.fromBean(Customer.class));
    }

    public void save(Customer customer) {
        customerTable.putItem(customer);
    }

    public Optional<Customer> findById(String customerId) {
        Key key = Key.builder().partitionValue(customerId).build();
        return Optional.ofNullable(customerTable.getItem(key));
    }
}
```

For comprehensive Spring Boot integration patterns, see [Spring Boot Integration Reference](references/spring-boot-integration.md).

## Testing

### Unit Testing with Mocks
```java
@ExtendWith(MockitoExtension.class)
class CustomerServiceTest {

    @Mock
    private DynamoDbClient dynamoDbClient;

    @Mock
    private DynamoDbEnhancedClient enhancedClient;

    @Mock
    private DynamoDbTable<Customer> customerTable;

    @InjectMocks
    private CustomerService customerService;

    @Test
    void saveCustomer_ShouldReturnSavedCustomer() {
        // Arrange
        when(enhancedClient.table(anyString(), any(TableSchema.class)))
            .thenReturn(customerTable);

        Customer customer = new Customer("123", "John Doe", "john@example.com");

        // Act
        Customer result = customerService.saveCustomer(customer);

        // Assert
        assertNotNull(result);
        verify(customerTable).putItem(customer);
    }
}
```

### Integration Testing with LocalStack
```java
@Testcontainers
@SpringBootTest
class DynamoDbIntegrationTest {

    @Container
    static LocalStackContainer localstack = new LocalStackContainer(
        DockerImageName.parse("localstack/localstack:3.0"))
        .withServices(LocalStackContainer.Service.DYNAMODB);

    @DynamicPropertySource
    static void configureProperties(DynamicPropertyRegistry registry) {
        registry.add("aws.endpoint",
            () -> localstack.getEndpointOverride(LocalStackContainer.Service.DYNAMODB).toString());
    }

    @Autowired
    private DynamoDbEnhancedClient enhancedClient;

    @Test
    void testCustomerCRUDOperations() {
        // Test implementation
    }
}
```

For detailed testing strategies, see [Testing Strategies](references/testing-strategies.md).

## Best Practices

- **Use Enhanced Client**: Type-safe operations with less boilerplate
- **Design partition keys for even distribution**: Avoid hot partitions
- **Prefer queries over scans**: Use GSIs for access patterns
- **Batch in chunks of 25/100**: BatchGetItem limits to 100, BatchWriteItem to 25 per table
- **Handle partial failures**: Implement retry with exponential backoff for `ProvisionedThroughputExceeded`
- **Use conditional writes**: Prevent race conditions with `attribute_not_exists(pk)`

## Examples

### Complete CRUD Repository
```java
@Repository
public class UserRepository {

    private final DynamoDbTable<User> userTable;

    public UserRepository(DynamoDbEnhancedClient enhancedClient) {
        this.userTable = enhancedClient.table("Users", TableSchema.fromBean(User.class));
    }

    public User save(User user) {
        userTable.putItem(user);
        return user;
    }

    public Optional<User> findById(String userId) {
        Key key = Key.builder().partitionValue(userId).build();
        return Optional.ofNullable(userTable.getItem(key));
    }

    public void deleteById(String userId) {
        userTable.deleteItem(Key.builder().partitionValue(userId).build());
    }
}
```

### Conditional Write with Retry
```java
public boolean createIfNotExists(User user) {
    PutItemEnhancedRequest<User> request = PutItemEnhancedRequest.builder(User.class)
        .item(user)
        .conditionExpression("attribute_not_exists(userId)")
        .build();

    try {
        userTable.putItemWithRequest(request);
        return true;
    } catch (ConditionalCheckFailedException e) {
        return false; // Item already exists
    }
}
```

## Constraints and Warnings

- **Item Size Limit**: DynamoDB items limited to 400KB
- **Partition Key Design**: Poor design causes hot partitions
- **Batch Limits**: BatchGetItem max 100, BatchWriteItem max 25 items per table
- **Transaction Costs**: Transactions cost 2x read/write capacity units
- **Scan Operations**: Scans consume large amounts of read capacity; use only when necessary

## References

- [AWS DynamoDB Documentation](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/dynamodb/)
- [AWS SDK for Java Documentation](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/sdk-for-java/latest/developer-guide/)
- [DynamoDB Examples](https://github.com/awsdocs/aws-doc-sdk-examples/tree/main/javav2/example_code/dynamodb)
- [LocalStack for Testing](https://docs.localstack.cloud/user-guide/aws/)

For detailed implementations, see the references folder:
- [Entity Mapping Reference](references/entity-mapping.md)
- [Advanced Operations Reference](references/advanced-operations.md)
- [Spring Boot Integration Reference](references/spring-boot-integration.md)
- [Testing Strategies](references/testing-strategies.md)