Delete All Items in DynamoDB Using Java (Guide w/ Code Examples)

To empty a table while retaining its configuration, scan the complete keys and delete each item. This example is for a controlled maintenance job on a table whose writers have been stopped.

This example uses Java 17+ and the software.amazon.awssdk:dynamodb SDK 2.x dependency. Configure an AWS Region and credentials through your usual AWS profile or runtime role. The Orders table has String keys pk and sk; adapt the table and keys to your schema.

import java.util.*;
import software.amazon.awssdk.services.dynamodb.DynamoDbClient;
import software.amazon.awssdk.services.dynamodb.model.*;

public class Example {
    static AttributeValue s(String value) { return AttributeValue.builder().s(value).build(); }
    static Map<String, AttributeValue> key(String order) {
        return Map.of("pk", s("CUSTOMER#123"), "sk", s(order));
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) throws InterruptedException {
        try (DynamoDbClient ddb = DynamoDbClient.create()) {
            ScanRequest request = ScanRequest.builder().tableName("Orders")
                .projectionExpression("#pk, #sk")
                .expressionAttributeNames(Map.of("#pk", "pk", "#sk", "sk")).build();
            for (ScanResponse page : ddb.scanPaginator(request)) {
                for (Map<String, AttributeValue> itemKey : page.items()) {
                    ddb.deleteItem(DeleteItemRequest.builder()
                        .tableName("Orders").key(itemKey).build());
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

This is destructive and not atomic. Concurrent writers can add items or change items between the scan and delete. For higher throughput, batch up to 25 delete requests and retry UnprocessedItems.

Reference: AWS Scan API. For related access patterns, see DynamoDB query examples.