DynamoDB browser

mnml-db-dynamodb is a terminal browser for Amazon DynamoDB — scan tables, inspect item JSON, yank entries. Runs standalone in any terminal.

Sibling to the existing mnml-db-* databases (mnml-db-postgres, -mariadb, -redshift, -clickhouse, -redis, -docdb), but the first one that uses the aws CLI for auth instead of a vendor driver — same chain as the other AWS siblings.

┌─ dynamodb ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ▸1.Sessions (47)  2.Orders (50)  3.Events                        │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─ Sessions · pk: userId / ts ─┐ ┌─ focused item ────────────────┐ │
│ ▸ user-abc · 1717685623      │ │ {                              │ │
│   user-abc · 1717685420      │ │   "userId": { "S": "abc" },    │ │
│   user-xyz · 1717684901      │ │   "ts": { "N": "1717685623" }, │ │
│   user-xyz · 1717684500      │ │   "device": { "S": "iOS" },    │ │
│   …                          │ │   "appVer": { "S": "4.2.1" }   │ │
│                              │ │ }                              │ │
└──────────────────────────────┘ └────────────────────────────────┘ │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
  1-9 tab · ↑↓/jk move · o console · y yank JSON · r refresh · q quit

Install

cargo install --git https://github.com/chris-mclennan/mnml-db-dynamodb mnml-db-dynamodb

You’ll also need the AWS CLI on your $PATH with credentials configured.

Setup

1. Verify the AWS CLI works. aws dynamodb list-tables must succeed.
2. Run once to scaffold the config: mnml-db-dynamodb.
3. Edit ~/.config/mnml-db-dynamodb.toml — add your tables.
4. Re-run.

Auth shape

Pure shell-out to the aws CLI — same chain as the other AWS siblings. This is the first mnml-db-* viewer that doesn’t use a vendor driver; for AWS-native NoSQL the AWS CLI’s credential resolution is the right path (env vars → shared credentials → SSO → IAM role).

Config

# Optional top-level region:
# region = "us-east-1"

[[tabs]]
name = "Sessions"
table = "user-sessions"
scan_limit = 50

[[tabs]]
name = "Orders"
table = "orders"
scan_limit = 100

Field	Required	Notes
name	yes	Tab strip label
table	yes	DynamoDB table name
scan_limit	no	Max items per scan (1..=1000, default 50)
region	no	Per-tab region override

Layout

• Tab strip: one tab per [[tabs]] entry, with per-tab item count badge
• Items table (left, 45%): PRIMARY column showing partition key (+ sort key if present), FIELDS column with a compact summary of the remaining attributes
• Detail panel (right, 55%): focused item’s full JSON, pretty-printed
• Status: active table, scan count, key hints

The PRIMARY column is smart — on first scan, the sibling runs describe-table alongside scan to find the table’s HASH + RANGE key fields, then renders those values in the PRIMARY column. No config required per table.

Keys

Chord	Action
1-9	Switch to that tab
Tab / BackTab	Cycle tabs
↑ / k, ↓ / j	Move selection
PgUp / PgDn	Jump 10 rows
g / G	Top / bottom
o	Open DynamoDB console for the active table
y	Yank focused item’s pretty-printed JSON to clipboard
r	Refresh active tab (re-scan)
q / Esc / Ctrl+C	Quit

Two run modes

Standalone

mnml-db-dynamodb

Hosted as a mnml Pty pane

:term mnml-db-dynamodb

Wire it into mnml’s left rail

mnml-db-dynamodb ships as a default chip in mnml’s rail under INTEGRATIONS. Bound to <leader>i d in the whichkey leader menu (vim mode), or palette-runnable as forge.open_dynamodb.

Status

v0.1 — scan-based table browsing, focused-item JSON detail panel, console open, item JSON yank.

Held back for v0.2+:

• query instead of scan (partition-key-anchored lookups)
• Filter expression input (FilterExpression)
• Pagination — currently first scan_limit items only
• Item editing
• GSI / LSI browsing
• Stream tail (DynamoDB Streams → live item changes)

Source

github.com/chris-mclennan/mnml-db-dynamodb. MIT.