Error: dynamodb cannot read properties of undefined

Answered by Rafal Wilinski
What's Causing This Error
This is an error that you may run into in the Node.js environment. You may face it locally or even in a Node.js Lambda function. There is no true cause for this error, but it is typically caused when trying to read an item from DynamoDB when nothing is returned from the query or scan.
Consider the snippet below.
const { Items = [] } = await documentClient.scan(scanParams).promise(); // will throw error if there is no error for 0th index. console.log(Items[0].id);
Solution: Here's How To Resolve It
Try a few of the solutions listed below to see if they will solve your error.
- Ensure that the item you're trying to read from DynamoDB exists. You can use the optional params -
item?.id
. - Ensure that you have implemented proper error handling to help your application recover from such errors.
Other Common DynamoDB Errors (with Solutions)
- DynamoDB Failed To Compute Node presentation
- DynamoDB validation error
- dynamodb the parameter cannot be converted to a numeric value
- dynamodb table did not stabilize
- dynamodb unable to execute http request
- dynamodb validation error detected
- dynamodb index does not exist
- DynamoDB scan filter not working
- dynamodb text contents could not be decoded
- DynamoDB scan limit not working
- DynamoDB table not updating
- dynamodb is abstract cannot be instantiated
- dynamodb system error cloudwatch
- dynamodb property projection cannot be empty
- DynamoDB scan does not return all items
Login to the AWS Console less. Use Dynobase.
Start your 7-day free trial today
Product Features
DynamoDB Tools
DynamoDB Info
© 2025 Dynobase