DynamoDB: Like (Guide w/ Code Examples)

DynamoDB has no SQL LIKE operator. Use begins_with for a key prefix, or contains in a filter for a substring match on items already selected by a Query.

Install @aws-sdk/client-dynamodb and @aws-sdk/lib-dynamodb, use an ES module on a supported Node.js runtime, and configure an AWS Region and credentials. The examples use an existing Orders table with String keys pk and sk unless an index or timestamp key is described.

import { DynamoDBClient } from "@aws-sdk/client-dynamodb";
import { DynamoDBDocumentClient, QueryCommand } from "@aws-sdk/lib-dynamodb";

const ddb = DynamoDBDocumentClient.from(new DynamoDBClient({}));

let lastKey;
do {
  const page = await ddb.send(new QueryCommand({
    TableName: "Orders",
    KeyConditionExpression: "#pk = :pk",
    FilterExpression: "contains(#name, :term)",
    ExpressionAttributeNames: { "#pk": "pk", "#name": "name" },
    ExpressionAttributeValues: { ":pk": "CUSTOMER#123", ":term": "bike" },
    ExclusiveStartKey: lastKey,
  }));
  for (const item of page.Items ?? []) console.log(item);
  lastKey = page.LastEvaluatedKey;
} while (lastKey && Object.keys(lastKey).length > 0);

String matching is case-sensitive. The filter saves response bandwidth, not read capacity. For full-text or wildcard search at scale, use a search index.

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