DynamoDB: Create global table from the CLI

Part 410 of AWS from Zero. This is lesson 9 in the DynamoDB track.

What we are learning

Use create-global-table to create or register one DynamoDB resource through the CLI. This lesson identifies the required input shape, saves the raw response, and keeps inspection separate from execution.

The AWS CLI operation is aws dynamodb create-global-table. Required operation inputs: --global-table-name (string), --replication-group (list). The modeled top-level response contains GlobalTableDescription.

Before you run it

aws sts get-caller-identity
REGION="${AWS_REGION:-ap-south-1}"
GLOBAL_TABLE_NAME="replace-with-global-table-name"
aws dynamodb create-global-table help

Use a sandbox account or an approved learning environment. Read the operation help before supplying identifiers, ARNs, network ranges, policy documents, or customer data.

Cost note: Tables, read/write capacity, backups, streams, and data transfer can incur charges.

The command

aws dynamodb create-global-table \
  --generate-cli-skeleton input > part-410-request.json
 
# Edit every placeholder in part-410-request.json, then run:
aws dynamodb create-global-table \
  --cli-input-json file://part-410-request.json \
  --region "$REGION" \
  --output json > part-410-response.json

The response is saved to part-410-response.json so inspection is separate from execution. Review part-410-request.json, replace every placeholder, and remove unsupported optional fields before the real call.

Inspect the result

node -e "const r=require('./part-410-response.json'); console.log(Object.keys(r))"
node -e "const r=require('./part-410-response.json'); console.log(JSON.stringify(r, null, 2))"

Compare the returned identifiers and status fields with the account, Region, and resource you intended to target. For asynchronous operations, continue with the service's matching get, list, or describe command until it reaches a terminal state.

One tiny variation

node -e "const r=require('./part-410-response.json'); console.log(JSON.stringify(r["GlobalTableDescription"], null, 2))"

This variation changes output inspection rather than adding another infrastructure concept. Keep the raw JSON while developing a query so a narrow projection does not hide an error or unexpected field.

Common mistake

Do not run a generated request unchanged. Replace every placeholder, add ownership tags where supported, estimate cost, and verify that the selected Region and account are disposable.

Cleanup

# This operation is read-only, operational, or needs resource-specific rollback.
# Re-read the command output before changing shared infrastructure.
rm -f part-410-request.json part-410-response.json part-410-payload.bin part-410-debug.log

Local request and response files may contain account IDs, ARNs, names, or service configuration. Remove them when the lab is complete and follow dependency-aware cleanup for any AWS resource you created.

Next, we will learn DynamoDB: Create table from the CLI.

Official AWS CLI reference