Download DynamoDB JDBC Driver

Download the DynamoDB JDBC driver, copy the JDBC URL into DbSchema, and start designing schemas with ER diagrams — free Community Edition.

About the DynamoDB JDBC driver

A JDBC driver is a Java .jar library that lets applications connect to DynamoDB. DbSchema uses JDBC to reverse engineer schemas, run SQL, and generate documentation. Driver files are usually published by the database vendor or an open-source project.

JDBC URL format

Host, port, database name, and SSL options are passed in a URL starting with jdbc:. Each DynamoDB driver uses its own syntax — see the connection details below.

The DynamoDB JDBC driver

Amazon DynamoDB is a fully managed, serverless NoSQL key-value and document database designed for high-performance applications at any scale. It delivers single-digit millisecond response times and automatically replicates data across multiple AWS availability zones. DynamoDB supports flexible schema design with partition keys, sort keys, and secondary indexes.

The DynamoDB JDBC URL

• Required File(s): dynamodb-jdbc-driver-xxx.jar
• Java Driver Class: com.wisecoders.jdbc.dynamodb.JdbcDriver
• JDBC URL: jdbc:dynamodb://{HOST}[:{PORT}]
• Website: Amazon DynamoDB

This JDBC driver is developed and maintained by the DbSchema team. It requires AWS credentials (access key ID and secret) and the target AWS region. For local development, use DynamoDB Local with jdbc:dynamodb://localhost:8000 to test without connecting to AWS.

Download DynamoDB JDBC Driver

The driver archive is a zip file. Unzip the downloaded archive to get the driver files. The driver source code can be found on GitHub repository.

Driver Source Code

Set Up the DynamoDB Connection

DynamoDB is reached through a regional AWS endpoint, and the user and password fields hold IAM keys rather than a database account.

1. Use the regional endpoint as the host. It takes the form dynamodb.<region>.amazonaws.com, for example dynamodb.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com. Tables are regional, so the endpoint decides which ones you see.
2. Put the access key in the user field. The user is the AWS access key id and the password is the secret access key. Temporary credentials also need a session token.
3. Grant list and read rights. The identity needs to list tables, describe them and scan or query them. Without describe rights, DbSchema cannot infer the attributes and the tables appear empty.
4. For DynamoDB Local, point at your own machine. The local test version listens on localhost and port 8000, and accepts any credentials — useful for designing a model without touching AWS.
5. Paste the URL into DbSchema. In the Connection Dialog set Connection Mode to Edit the JDBC URL Manually and paste the string you copied. The user and the password are entered in the first tab, not in the URL.

DbSchema and DynamoDB

The DynamoDB JDBC driver developed by the DbSchema team allows DbSchema to connect to AWS DynamoDB, visualize table and index structures (partition keys, sort keys, GSIs, LSIs), run SQL queries against DynamoDB data, and explore items interactively through the data explorer.