GetItem in DynamoDB Using Java (Guide w/ Code Examples)

Call GetItem with the complete primary key. This example uses a table with String partition key pk and String sort key sk; a missing item returns an empty item map.

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()) {
            GetItemResponse response = ddb.getItem(GetItemRequest.builder()
                .tableName("Orders").key(key("ORDER#001"))
                .consistentRead(true).build());
            if (response.hasItem()) System.out.println(response.item());
            else System.out.println("Item not found");
        }
    }
}

GetItem reads the base table, not a secondary index. Use Query with an index name for an index lookup.

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