DynoTable

SQL Workbench

The Workbench is a SQL authoring tab that runs real JOIN, GROUP BY, and aggregate queries across your DynamoDB tables — the things PartiQL can't do. It's SQL within DynamoDB's access-pattern rules: you write a single SELECT, a compiler checks that every join reads through a real key or index, materialises the joined rows, and runs your full SQL on top.

Open one from the sidebar right-click menu (New Workbench), the ⌘⌥Q shortcut, or File → New Workbench. Write SQL, then press ⌘↩ to run.

SELECT c.email, COUNT(*) AS orders, SUM(o.total) AS revenue
FROM orders o
JOIN customers c ON o.customerId = c.id
GROUP BY c.email
ORDER BY revenue DESC
The Workbench: a multi-table SQL JOIN, with the joined result grid below.
The Workbench: a multi-table SQL JOIN, with the joined result grid below.

What it supports

A single SELECT statement with:

  • JOIN ... ON ... — INNER and LEFT joins across tables.
  • Aggregates — COUNT, SUM, AVG, MIN, MAX, plus GROUP BY and HAVING.
  • WHERE, DISTINCT, CASE, CAST, ORDER BY.

While an aggregate query is still streaming, a partial badge marks the affected columns — the numbers refine as more pages arrive.

The access-pattern rule

DynamoDB has no server-side joins. The Workbench compiler enforces what DynamoDB can do: each JOIN's to-side attribute must be a partition key or a GSI partition key on the target table, so every lookup is a real query, never a hidden full-table scan per row.

If a join points at a non-key attribute, the editor underlines it and explains why. Other constructs the compiler rejects up front, with a precise squiggle:

  • RIGHT / FULL OUTER / CROSS joins and comma-joins (only INNER / LEFT).
  • Subqueries, CTEs (WITH), UNION / INTERSECT / EXCEPT.
  • Window functions (OVER), multiple statements, anything that isn't a SELECT.

Read-only

A Workbench is always read-only. There's no editing, staging, or batch-delete — it's an analysis surface. Running a query never writes to your tables.

Identifiers follow standard SQL casing: unquoted names match case-insensitively (WHERE PLATFORM finds platform); wrap a name in quotes or backticks for exact-case matching.

Running, templates, and history

  • Run — ⌘↩ in the editor, the Run button, or ⌘R to re-execute. Workbench tabs never auto-run on open; execution is always deliberate.
  • Templates — starter queries (select-all, filter-by-key, count-by-group) with Tab-through holes.
  • History — every run is saved (separately from PartiQL's history) and restorable.

A Workbench tab is a saved spec — name it, reopen it from ⌘K, and it survives reloads. You can also export its joined results.

Workbench vs Smart Table

Both run the same join engine; they're two ways to author the same thing:

  • Workbench is the SQL lane — type a query, get aggregates and resolved attributes.
  • Smart Table is the visual lane — draw the joins on a canvas and browse the joined rows like a normal table.

Updated