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Error: dynamodb no range key value present

Rafal Wilinski

Answered by Rafal Wilinski

Last updated: October 23rd, 2026

Solution

“No range key value present” commonly comes from a mapper when a single-item operation needs a sort key but the model or request does not supply it. A range key is DynamoDB’s older name for a sort key. Check the actual table schema and the mapper’s key annotations.

  • For GetItem, DeleteItem, and UpdateItem, provide both key attributes on a composite-key table. For PutItem, include both in the item.
  • Keep key names and types identical to DescribeTable. A string key cannot be replaced with a numeric value, and key values cannot be empty.
  • For Java models, map the sort-key property and set its value before an item operation. Java 2.x uses @DynamoDbSortKey; legacy DynamoDBMapper uses @DynamoDBRangeKey.
  • Query is different: it requires partition-key equality but can omit the sort-key condition to read the item collection. Do not add a fabricated sort key merely to run a Query.
// Parameters for SDK v3 GetCommand on a table with string pk and sk.
const params = {
  TableName: "Orders",
  Key: { pk: "CUSTOMER#123", sk: "ORDER#456" }
};

If the real table has only a partition key, remove an erroneous sort-key mapping from the application model. Adding a sort key to an existing base table requires a migration, not an extra request parameter.

See sort-key examples and AWS documentation.

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