DynamoDB DeleteItem in Go (AWS SDK v2)

client.DeleteItem takes a dynamodb.DeleteItemInput carrying the full primary key. With types.ReturnValueAllOld the response tells you whether anything was actually there; once you add a ConditionExpression, the error tells you why it stayed.

Code

package main

import (
	"context"
	"fmt"
	"log"

	"github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/aws"
	"github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/config"
	"github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/dynamodb"
	"github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/dynamodb/types"
)

func main() {
	ctx := context.TODO()
	cfg, err := config.LoadDefaultConfig(ctx, config.WithRegion("us-east-1"))
	if err != nil {
		log.Fatalf("load config: %v", err)
	}
	client := dynamodb.NewFromConfig(cfg)

	out, err := client.DeleteItem(ctx, &dynamodb.DeleteItemInput{
		TableName: aws.String("Music"),
		Key: map[string]types.AttributeValue{
			"Artist":    &types.AttributeValueMemberS{Value: "Arturo Sandoval"},
			"SongTitle": &types.AttributeValueMemberS{Value: "Cubano Chant"},
		},
		ReturnValues: types.ReturnValueAllOld,
	})
	if err != nil {
		log.Fatalf("delete item: %v", err)
	}

	if len(out.Attributes) == 0 {
		fmt.Println("No item with that key existed")
	} else {
		fmt.Println("Deleted:", out.Attributes)
	}
}

Explanation

types.ReturnValueAllOld is a typed constant, not the string "ALL_OLD" — the field takes a types.ReturnValue, so a typo is a compile error instead of a runtime ValidationException. DeleteItem accepts only NONE and ALL_OLD; the rest of the enum is shared with UpdateItem.
len(out.Attributes) == 0 is the only signal you get — deleting a key that was never there succeeds, and the SDK hands back a nil map rather than an error. Nothing else separates "deleted it" from "there was nothing to delete".
Match the guard failure with errors.As — var ccfe *types.ConditionalCheckFailedException then errors.As(err, &ccfe). A direct comparison misses it, because Go v2 wraps service faults in a Smithy operation error.
The exception can carry the losing item — set ReturnValuesOnConditionCheckFailure: types.ReturnValuesOnConditionCheckFailureAllOld and ccfe.Item holds the row as DynamoDB saw it, so you can log the value that actually failed the guard instead of re-reading it. The SDK documents the price: "No read capacity units are consumed."
One item per call — there is no delete-all API. Deleting many items means collecting the keys first and batching the writes, or dropping the table.

Do it visually

The guard is the fiddly half: a ConditionExpression plus the name and value maps that go with it. The DynamoDB Expression Builder assembles all three from a form.

DynoTable attacks the same risk from the other end. A delete lands in a Pending changes panel first and only reaches the table when you commit it, so a wrong row is something you discard rather than something you restore. Download DynoTable.

DynamoDB DeleteItem in Java — the same delete with AWS SDK for Java 2.x.
DynamoDB PutItem in Go — the write side of the same key.
DynamoDB condition expressions — guard deletes with attribute_exists and value checks.
DynamoDB ConditionalCheckFailedException — what a failed conditional delete throws, and when it's expected.

References

Last verified 2026-07-28 against the official AWS documentation linked above.

DynamoDB DeleteItem in Go (AWS SDK v2)

Code

Explanation

Do it visually

Related examples

References