Error: dynamodb localhost not working

A localhost connection fails when DynamoDB Local is not listening at the address the client uses. Verify the process, port, and network namespace first. The cloud endpoint, localhost inside a container, and localhost on your host are different targets.

# Run from the extracted distribution directory with Java 17 or newer.
java -Djava.library.path=./DynamoDBLocal_lib -jar DynamoDBLocal.jar -sharedDb

AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=local AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=local \
  aws dynamodb list-tables --region us-east-1 \
  --endpoint-url http://localhost:8000

Use dummy credentials only with an explicit local endpoint. If the signed ListTables request works but the app fails, compare its endpoint, Region, and credentials. Without -sharedDb, differing keys or Regions select different local database files.

In Docker, publish the service port for host access and use the service hostname for access from sibling containers. Use HTTP unless you explicitly configured a TLS proxy. Local’s old browser shell is deprecated, so a missing /shell page does not show that the database API is broken.

See local setup and AWS documentation.