generated: '2026-09-18'
method: searched
source: >-
  https://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/DynamoDBLocal.html,
  https://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/DynamoDBLocal.DownloadingAndRunning.html,
  https://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/workbench.settingup.html,
  https://hub.docker.com/r/amazon/dynamodb-local - read 2026-09-18
note: >-
  DynamoDB has no hosted sandbox and no test-mode key prefix, because it has no
  API keys at all - credentials are IAM. What it has instead is unusually strong
  for this catalogue: a downloadable, offline, API-compatible emulator that
  speaks the same wire protocol on localhost, so an agent or a CI job can
  exercise the real operation set without an AWS account and without spending
  anything. There are no test cards or fixture tokens to record; the fixtures
  are whatever you create locally.
modes:
  - name: DynamoDB Local
    kind: offline-emulator
    version: 3.3.1
    published: '2026-07-31'
    endpoint: http://localhost:8000
    api_compatible: true
    requires_account: false
    install:
      - docker run -p 8000:8000 amazon/dynamodb-local
      - java -Djava.library.path=./DynamoDBLocal_lib -jar DynamoDBLocal.jar -sharedDb
      - available in AWS CloudShell from the console since 2025-05-19
    usage: aws dynamodb list-tables --endpoint-url http://localhost:8000
    credentials:
      note: >-
        Any non-empty access key and secret are accepted. By default the local
        instance partitions data BY credential and Region, so a job that changes
        either appears to lose its tables; -sharedDb forces a single database
        file. This is the most common local-only surprise.
    limitations:
      - Capacity, throttling and provisioned-throughput behaviour are simulated, not enforced the same way
      - Streams, transactions and PartiQL are supported, but IAM, resource-based policies, ABAC, PITR, backups, exports and global tables are not
      - Latency characteristics tell you nothing about the service
    docs: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/DynamoDBLocal.html
  - name: NoSQL Workbench for DynamoDB
    kind: desktop-client
    requires_account: false
    description: >-
      First-party desktop tool for data modeling, visualization and query
      building. Connects to either DynamoDB Local or a live account, can clone
      tables between them, and generates code from a built operation.
    docs: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/workbench.settingup.html
  - name: Free-tier allowance on the live service
    kind: live-with-allowance
    requires_account: true
    description: >-
      There is no separate test environment on the service. The nearest thing is
      the standing monthly allowance - 25 GB storage, 25 provisioned RCU, 25
      provisioned WCU and 2.5 million Streams read request units - under which a
      small live table costs nothing.
    caveat: >-
      On-demand request units carry NO free allowance in the price list, so a
      table created with the default billing mode starts billing on the first
      request.
    artifact: plans/amazon-dynamodb-plans-pricing.yml
test_credentials:
  published: false
  note: No test keys, test cards or magic identifiers exist - DynamoDB authenticates with IAM SigV4 only.
key_prefixes:
  test: null
  live: null
  note: Not applicable. There is no API-key surface to prefix.
time_simulation:
  supported: false
  note: >-
    No test clocks. TTL deletion is asynchronous and can lag by up to 48 hours
    even on the live service, which is worth knowing before an agent asserts on
    expiry.