Amazon DynamoDB NoSQL WorkBench
Tags: aws, database, serverless, beginners
Published: 2022-10-21 07:56:45

I was working with DynamoDB for over 3 years. During that period I used AWS console, API and CLI to interact with it. AWS also provides a tool called NoSQL Workbench for DynamoDB, which I also used too. I feel it is underappreciated by many or are not even aware that it even exists.

I'm hoping that this post will help increase awareness about NoSQL Workbench. 

It can be downloaded from the following [link](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/workbench.settingup.html).

**So what exactly is NoSQL workbench for Amazon DynamoDB?**
NoSQL Workbench was first released in 2019. It is a cross-platform client-side GUI application for modern database development and operations and is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

It is a single visual IDE tool that includes capabilities for data modelling, data visualization, and query creation to assist you in designing, creating, querying, and managing DynamoDB tables.

The Amazon DynamoDB NoSQL Workbench is a very powerful GUI tool that you should have in your toolbox, in my opinion. 

When you launch it, you will see the following screen.

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/vws5hel9rzkcr24jidl3.png)

The main three feature of this tool are:

- Data Modelling

- Data Visualization

- Operation Builder

## **Data Modeling**
Data modelling enables you to create new data models from, or models based on, existing data models that satisfy the data access patterns of your application.

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/5e9b1f5u5vx8xd1nqr9c.png)

So with Data Modeling you can:

- Build new data models

- Add tables and indexes

- Import and export models

## **Data Visualization**
The data model visualizer provides a canvas where you can map queries and visualize the access patterns (facets) of the application without having to write code. Every facet corresponds to a different access pattern in DynamoDB. You can manually add data to your data model.

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/2owzvqryt4puncgxefj7.png)

With Data visualization you can:

- Add sample data

- Visualize data layout and structure

- Commit models to the cloud

## **Operation Builder**
NoSQL Workbench provides a rich graphical user interface for you to develop and test queries. You can use the operation builder to view, explore, and query datasets. You can also use the structured operation builder to build and perform data plane operations.

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/brjsy27hzx9wh8ds9shw.png)

Finally with Operation builder you can:

- Build operations and queries

- Use a guided form

- Generate code for data-plane operations

Finally, if you have never used NoSQL Workbench for DynamoDB, I recommend that you do give it a try. Who knows it might surprise you. 

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