PartiQL

PartiQL is DynamoDB's SQL-compatible query language. Switch any table tab to PartiQL mode (⌘⇧M) to write SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE statements directly instead of clicking filter pills.

Completion stays within the current table: the editor suggests its indexed fields and values, plus a $table placeholder. It does not offer a table picker. See Table overview and indexing for how the local index is built.

Switching a tab into PartiQL mode auto-runs the default SELECT * FROM "table" scan — the direct equivalent of opening the table in the visual view. Once you edit the statement, running it is up to you: press ⌘↩ to execute. Results stream in, and Load more fetches the next pages. For a write statement the same chord stages it — see Write templates.

PartiQL uses the same query plan and cost preview as the Workbench.

SELECT * FROM "my-table" WHERE pk = 'USER#42' AND begins_with(sk, 'ORDER#')

PartiQL is not SQL

DynamoDB's PartiQL is a deliberate subset. The editor lints your query as you type and flags constructs DynamoDB won't run. Some diagnostics include a one-click quick fix. The common gotchas:

• IN uses brackets, not parentheses — WHERE id IN ['a', 'b'], not ('a', 'b'). Quick-fix rewrites it. The linter also warns when the list runs past DynamoDB's caps (50 values on a partition-key column, 100 on a non-key column) before the server would reject it.
• No LIMIT clause — page size is a tab control, not SQL. Use Load more.
• No JOIN, GROUP BY, HAVING, aggregates, subqueries, UNION, or CTEs. For joins and aggregates, open a Workbench tab — the linter points you there. Subqueries, UNION, and CTEs aren't available there either.
• LIKE → function — LIKE '%foo%' becomes contains(col, 'foo'), 'foo%' becomes begins_with(col, 'foo'). Quick-fix offered.
• IS NULL / IS NOT NULL → attribute_not_exists(col) / attribute_exists(col). Quick-fix offered (note the inverse mapping).
• Single-quote string literals — 'value', not "value". Double quotes mean an identifier.

The format-help popover next to the Run button lists these inline whenever you need a reminder. Attribute names that clash with DynamoDB reserved words need aliases — the reserved words checker flags them and generates an ExpressionAttributeNames map you can paste into PartiQL or SDK calls.

Templates & saved queries

The Queries menu drops ready-made statements into the editor, resolved against the active table's real keys and a sampled value — so a SELECT template arrives already referencing your partition key, not a placeholder. Tab through the highlighted holes to fill in the rest.

Keep a statement you'll reuse with the Save button — your saved queries live in the same menu alongside the templates. A PartiQL save is bound to the table and region it was written for; Workbench saves are the ones that travel between tables. Workbench and PartiQL keep separate libraries, since they speak different query languages.

Write templates

INSERT / UPDATE / DELETE templates use synthetic DEMO-* keys on purpose, so running one straight away can't accidentally mutate a real row. They're designed to run in order — insert, then update, then delete the same demo item — and you edit the keys to target real data.

History

Every executed query is saved to per-mode history (separate from the Workbench's). Reopen the history menu to restore a previous statement into the editor — including failed runs, so you can fix and retry.