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rasjonell
rasjonell

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DynamoDB Workflows: stop rewriting incident scripts (with DynamoLens)

#aws #dynamodb #devtools #opensource

If you use DynamoDB on a real product, you probably have a hidden folder somewhere: incident scripts, debug scripts, one-off migrations, quick backfills.

It starts innocently:

You need to fetch a user by email, then find their recent orders, then look up a handful of related items. You run a Query, copy a key, paste it into another query, repeat… and eventually you give up and write a script.

The next time the same incident happens, you copy that script, tweak it, and hope you didn’t mix up Dev and Prod.

That’s the DynamoDB script tax.

What “Workflows” are (in DynamoLens)

DynamoLens is a free, open-source desktop client for DynamoDB (macOS / Windows / Linux).

Its core feature is Workflows: a way to turn repeatable DynamoDB operations into a first‑class object

you can:

  • build once (Query / Scan / PartiQL steps)
  • chain steps together (values flow forward automatically)
  • save and re-run without rewriting anything
  • export/import to share with teammates

Think of it as moving “incident scripts” from a private folder into a visible, repeatable, shareable UI.

The real win: sharing

Dev tools spread when they become team habits. Workflows are designed to be shared:

  • The person who debugs a nasty issue can turn the investigation into a workflow and hand it to the next on-call.
  • A backend team can standardize “safe” patterns (Query-first, guarded Scans) as reusable workflows.
  • Local dev flows can be reused in staging and production without rewriting.

Example: “User → Orders → Order Items” without copy/paste

A common DynamoDB debugging pattern is a chain of lookups. In a workflow you can:

  1. Query the Users table by email
  2. Extract the userId from the result
  3. Query the Orders table using that userId
  4. Extract an orderId
  5. Fetch related items

The point isn’t that this is impossible with scripts, it’s that it becomes repeatable and shareable without constantly re-implementing the same glue.

Safety: fewer surprises

DynamoDB is powerful, but it’s easy to do expensive or dangerous things accidentally (especially with Scans). DynamoLens makes the

operation mode explicit and keeps environment context visible.

Try it

If you want to stop paying the script tax, start with one workflow you run repeatedly. When it saves you time, share it with your team.

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