Built-in modules - AWS AppSync

Built-in modules

Modules are a part of the APPSYNC_JS runtime and provide utilities to help write JavaScript resolvers and functions.

DynamoDB module functions

DynamoDB module functions provide an enhanced experience when interacting with DynamoDB data sources. You can make requests toward your DynamoDB data sources using the functions and without adding type mapping.

Modules are imported using @aws-appsync/utils/dynamodb:

// Modules are imported using @aws-appsync/utils/dynamodb import * as ddb from '@aws-appsync/utils/dynamodb';

Functions

get<T>(payload: GetInput): DynamoDBGetItemRequest
Tip

See Inputs for information about GetInput.

Generates a DynamoDBGetItemRequest object to make a GetItem request to DynamoDB.

import { get } from '@aws-appsync/utils/dynamodb'; export function request(ctx) { return get({ key: { id: ctx.args.id } }); }
put<T>(payload): DynamoDBPutItemRequest

Generates a DynamoDBPutItemRequest object to make a PutItem request to DynamoDB.

import * as ddb from '@aws-appsync/utils/dynamodb' export function request(ctx) { return ddb.put({ key: { id: util.autoId() }, item: ctx.args }); }
remove<T>(payload): DynamoDBDeleteItemRequest

Generates a DynamoDBDeleteItemRequest object to make a DeleteItem request to DynamoDB.

import * as ddb from '@aws-appsync/utils/dynamodb'; export function request(ctx) { return ddb.remove({ key: { id: ctx.args.id } }); }
scan<T>(payload): DynamoDBScanRequest

Generates a DynamoDBScanRequest to make a Scan request to DynamoDB.

import * as ddb from '@aws-appsync/utils/dynamodb'; export function request(ctx) { const { limit = 10, nextToken } = ctx.args; return ddb.scan({ limit, nextToken }); }
sync<T>(payload): DynamoDBSyncRequest

Generates a DynamoDBSyncRequest object to make a Sync request. The request only receives the data altered since the last query (delta updates). Requests can only be made to versioned DynamoDB data sources.

import * as ddb from '@aws-appsync/utils/dynamodb'; export function request(ctx) { const { limit = 10, nextToken, lastSync } = ctx.args; return ddb.sync({ limit, nextToken, lastSync }); }
update<T>(payload): DynamoDBUpdateItemRequest

Generates a DynamoDBUpdateItemRequest object to make an UpdateItem request to DynamoDB.

Operations

Operation helpers allow you to take specific actions on parts of your data during updates. To get started, import operations from @aws-appsync/utils/dynamodb:

// Modules are imported using operations import {operations} from '@aws-appsync/utils/dynamodb';
add<T>(payload)

A helper function that adds a new attribute item when updating DynamoDB.

Example

To add an address (street, city, and zip code) to an existing DynamoDB item using the ID value:

import { update, operations } from '@aws-appsync/utils/dynamodb'; export function request(ctx) { const updateObj = { address: operations.add({ street1: '123 Main St', city: 'New York', zip: '10001', }), }; return update({ key: { id: 1 }, update: updateObj }); }
append <T>(payload)

A helper function that appends a payload to the existing list in DynamoDB.

Example

To append newly added friend IDs (newFriendIds) to an existing friends list (friendsIds) during an update:

import { update, operations } from '@aws-appsync/utils/dynamodb'; export function request(ctx) { const newFriendIds = [101, 104, 111]; const updateObj = { friendsIds: operations.append(newFriendIds), }; return update({ key: { id: 1 }, update: updateObj }); }
decrement (by?)

A helper function that decrements the existing attribute value in the item when updating DynamoDB.

Example

To decrement a friends counter (friendsCount) by 10:

import { update, operations } from '@aws-appsync/utils/dynamodb'; export function request(ctx) { const updateObj = { friendsCount: operations.decrement(10), }; return update({ key: { id: 1 }, update: updateObj }); }
increment (by?)

A helper function that increments the existing attribute value in the item when updating DynamoDB.

Example

To increment a friends counter (friendsCount) by 10:

import { update, operations } from '@aws-appsync/utils/dynamodb'; export function request(ctx) { const updateObj = { friendsCount: operations.increment(10), }; return update({ key: { id: 1 }, update: updateObj }); }
prepend <T>(payload)

A helper function that prepends to the existing list in DynamoDB.

Example

To prepend newly added friend IDs (newFriendIds) to an existing friends list (friendsIds) during an update:

import { update, operations } from '@aws-appsync/utils/dynamodb'; export function request(ctx) { const newFriendIds = [101, 104, 111]; const updateObj = { friendsIds: operations.prepend(newFriendIds), }; return update({ key: { id: 1 }, update: updateObj }); }
replace <T>(payload)

A helper function that replaces an existing attribute when updating an item in DynamoDB. This is useful for when you want to update the entire object or subobject in the attribute and not just the keys in the payload.

Example

To replace an address (street, city, and zip code) in an info object:

import { update, operations } from '@aws-appsync/utils/dynamodb'; export function request(ctx) { const updateObj = { info: { address: operations.replace({ street1: '123 Main St', city: 'New York', zip: '10001', }), }, }; return update({ key: { id: 1 }, update: updateObj }); }
updateListItem <T>(payload, index)

A helper function that replaces an item in a list.

Example

In the scope of the update (newFriendIds), this example used updateListItem to update the ID values of the second item (index: 1, new ID: 102) and third item (index: 2, new ID: 112) in a list (friendsIds).

import { update, operations as ops } from '@aws-appsync/utils/dynamodb'; export function request(ctx) { const newFriendIds = [ ops.updateListItem('102', 1), ops.updateListItem('112', 2) ]; const updateObj = { friendsIds: newFriendIds }; return update({ key: { id: 1 }, update: updateObj }); }

Inputs

Type GetInput<T>
GetInput<T>: { consistentRead?: boolean; key: DynamoDBKey<T>; }

Type Declaration

  • consistentRead?: boolean (optional)

    An optional boolean to specify whether you want to perform a strongly consistent read with DynamoDB.

  • key: DynamoDBKey<T> (required)

    A required parameter that specifies the key of the item in DynamoDB. DynamoDB items may have a single hash key or hash and sort keys.

Type PutInput<T>
PutInput<T>: { _version?: number; condition?: DynamoDBFilterObject<T> | null; customPartitionKey?: string; item: Partial<T>; key: DynamoDBKey<T>; populateIndexFields?: boolean; }

Type Declaration

  • _version?: number (optional)

  • condition?: DynamoDBFilterObject<T> | null (optional)

    When you put an object in a DynamoDB table, you can optionally specify a conditional expression that controls whether the request should succeed or not based on the state of the object already in DynamoDB before the operation is performed.

  • customPartitionKey?: string (optional)

    When enabled, this string value modifies the format of the ds_sk and ds_pk records used by the delta sync table when versioning has been enabled. When enabled, the processing of the populateIndexFields entry is also enabled.

  • item: Partial<T> (required)

    The rest of the attributes of the item to be placed into DynamoDB.

  • key: DynamoDBKey<T> (required)

    A required parameter that specifies the key of the item in DynamoDB on which the put will be performed. DynamoDB items may have a single hash key or hash and sort keys.

  • populateIndexFields?: boolean (optional)

    A boolean value that, when enabled along with the customPartitionKey, creates new entries for each record in the delta sync table, specifically in the gsi_ds_pk and gsi_ds_sk columns. For more information, see Conflict detection and sync in the AWS AppSync Developer Guide.

Type QueryInput<T>
QueryInput<T>: ScanInput<T> & { query: DynamoDBKeyCondition<Required<T>>; }

Type Declaration

  • query: DynamoDBKeyCondition<Required<T>> (required)

    Specifies a key condition that describes items to query. For a given index, the condition for a partition key should be an equality and the sort key a comparison or a beginsWith (when it's a string). Only number and string types are supported for partition and sort keys.

    Example

    Take the User type below:

    type User = { id: string; name: string; age: number; isVerified: boolean; friendsIds: string[] }

    The query can only include the following fields: id, name, and age:

    const query: QueryInput<User> = { name: { eq: 'John' }, age: { gt: 20 }, }
Type RemoveInput<T>
RemoveInput<T>: { _version?: number; condition?: DynamoDBFilterObject<T>; customPartitionKey?: string; key: DynamoDBKey<T>; populateIndexFields?: boolean; }

Type Declaration

  • _version?: number (optional)

  • condition?: DynamoDBFilterObject<T> (optional)

    When you remove an object in DynamoDB, you can optionally specify a conditional expression that controls whether the request should succeed or not based on the state of the object already in DynamoDB before the operation is performed.

    Example

    The following example is a DeleteItem expression containing a condition that allows the operation succeed only if the owner of the document matches the user making the request.

    type Task = { id: string; title: string; description: string; owner: string; isComplete: boolean; } const condition: DynamoDBFilterObject<Task> = { owner: { eq: 'XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX' }, } remove<Task>({ key: { id: 'XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX', }, condition, });
  • customPartitionKey?: string (optional)

    When enabled, the customPartitionKey value modifies the format of the ds_sk and ds_pk records used by the delta sync table when versioning has been enabled. When enabled, the processing of the populateIndexFields entry is also enabled.

  • key: DynamoDBKey<T> (required)

    A required parameter that specifies the key of the item in DynamoDB that is being removed. DynamoDB items may have a single hash key or hash and sort keys.

    Example

    If a User only has the hash key with a user id, then the key would look like this:

    type User = { id: number name: string age: number isVerified: boolean } const key: DynamoDBKey<User> = { id: 1, }

    If the table user has a hash key (id) and sort key (name), then the key would look like this:

    type User = { id: number name: string age: number isVerified: boolean friendsIds: string[] } const key: DynamoDBKey<User> = { id: 1, name: 'XXXXXXXXXX', }
  • populateIndexFields?: boolean (optional)

    A boolean value that, when enabled along with the customPartitionKey, creates new entries for each record in the delta sync table, specifically in the gsi_ds_pk and gsi_ds_sk columns.

Type ScanInput<T>
ScanInput<T>: { consistentRead?: boolean | null; filter?: DynamoDBFilterObject<T> | null; index?: string | null; limit?: number | null; nextToken?: string | null; scanIndexForward?: boolean | null; segment?: number; select?: DynamoDBSelectAttributes; totalSegments?: number; }

Type Declaration

  • consistentRead?: boolean | null (optional)

    An optional boolean to indicate consistent reads when querying DynamoDB. The default value is false.

  • filter?: DynamoDBFilterObject<T> | null (optional)

    An optional filter to apply to the results after retrieving it from the table.

  • index?: string | null (optional)

    An optional name of the index to scan.

  • limit?: number | null (optional)

    An optional max number of results to return.

  • nextToken?: string | null (optional)

    An optional pagination token to continue a previous query. This would have been obtained from a previous query.

  • scanIndexForward?: boolean | null (optional)

    An optional boolean to indicate whether the query is performed in ascending or descending order. By default, this value is set to true.

  • segment?: number (optional)

  • select?: DynamoDBSelectAttributes (optional)

    Attributes to return from DynamoDB. By default, the AWS AppSync DynamoDB resolver only returns attributes that are projected into the index. The supported values are:

    • ALL_ATTRIBUTES

      Returns all the item attributes from the specified table or index. If you query a local secondary index, DynamoDB fetches the entire item from the parent table for each matching item in the index. If the index is configured to project all item attributes, all of the data can be obtained from the local secondary index and no fetching is required.

    • ALL_PROJECTED_ATTRIBUTES

      Returns all attributes that have been projected into the index. If the index is configured to project all attributes, this return value is equivalent to specifying ALL_ATTRIBUTES.

    • SPECIFIC_ATTRIBUTES

      Returns only the attributes listed in ProjectionExpression. This return value is equivalent to specifying ProjectionExpression without specifying any value for AttributesToGet.

  • totalSegments?: number (optional)

Type DynamoDBSyncInput<T>
DynamoDBSyncInput<T>: { basePartitionKey?: string; deltaIndexName?: string; filter?: DynamoDBFilterObject<T> | null; lastSync?: number; limit?: number | null; nextToken?: string | null; }

Type Declaration

  • basePartitionKey?: string (optional)

    The partition key of the base table to be used when performing a Sync operation. This field allows a Sync operation to be performed when the table utilizes a custom partition key.

  • deltaIndexName?: string (optional)

    The index used for the Sync operation. This index is required to enable a Sync operation on the whole delta store table when the table uses a custom partition key. The Sync operation will be performed on the GSI (created on gsi_ds_pk and gsi_ds_sk).

  • filter?: DynamoDBFilterObject<T> | null (optional)

    An optional filter to apply to the results after retrieving it from the table.

  • lastSync?: number (optional)

    The moment, in epoch milliseconds, at which the last successful Sync operation started. If specified, only items that have changed after lastSync are returned. This field should only be populated after retrieving all pages from an initial Sync operation. If omitted, results from the base table will be returned. Otherwise, results from the delta table will be returned.

  • limit?: number | null (optional)

    An optional maximum number of items to evaluate at a single time. If omitted, the default limit will be set to 100 items. The maximum value for this field is 1000 items.

  • nextToken?: string | null (optional)

Type DynamoDBUpdateInput<T>
DynamoDBUpdateInput<T>: { _version?: number; condition?: DynamoDBFilterObject<T>; customPartitionKey?: string; key: DynamoDBKey<T>; populateIndexFields?: boolean; update: DynamoDBUpdateObject<T>; }

Type Declaration

  • _version?: number (optional)

  • condition?: DynamoDBFilterObject<T> (optional)

    When you update an object in DynamoDB, you can optionally specify a conditional expression that controls whether the request should succeed or not based on the state of the object already in DynamoDB before the operation is performed.

  • customPartitionKey?: string (optional)

    When enabled, the customPartitionKey value modifies the format of the ds_sk and ds_pk records used by the delta sync table when versioning has been enabled. When enabled, the processing of the populateIndexFields entry is also enabled.

  • key: DynamoDBKey<T> (required)

    A required parameter that specifies the key of the item in DynamoDB that is being updated. DynamoDB items may have a single hash key or hash and sort keys.

  • populateIndexFields?: boolean (optional)

    A boolean value that, when enabled along with the customPartitionKey, creates new entries for each record in the delta sync table, specifically in the gsi_ds_pk and gsi_ds_sk columns.

  • update: DynamoDBUpdateObject<T>

    An object that specifies the attributes to be updated along with the new values for them. The update object can be used with add, remove, replace, increment, decrement, append, prepend, updateListItem.

Amazon RDS module functions

Amazon RDS module functions provide an enhanced experience when interacting with databases configured with the Amazon RDS Data API. The module is imported using @aws-appsync/utils/rds:

import * as rds from '@aws-appsync/utils/rds';

Functions can also be imported individually. For instance, the import below uses sql:

import { sql } from '@aws-appsync/utils/rds';

Functions

You can use the AWS AppSync RDS module's utility helpers to interact with your database.

The select utility creates a SELECT statement to query your relational database.

Basic use

In its basic form, you can specify the table you want to query:

import { select, createPgStatement } from '@aws-appsync/utils/rds'; export function request(ctx) { // Generates statement: // "SELECT * FROM "persons" return createPgStatement(select({table: 'persons'})); }

Note that you can also specify the schema in your table identifier:

import { select, createPgStatement } from '@aws-appsync/utils/rds'; export function request(ctx) { // Generates statement: // SELECT * FROM "private"."persons" return createPgStatement(select({table: 'private.persons'})); }

Specifying columns

You can specify columns with the columns property. If this isn't set to a value, it defaults to *:

export function request(ctx) { // Generates statement: // SELECT "id", "name" // FROM "persons" return createPgStatement(select({ table: 'persons', columns: ['id', 'name'] })); }

You can specify a column's table as well:

export function request(ctx) { // Generates statement: // SELECT "id", "persons"."name" // FROM "persons" return createPgStatement(select({ table: 'persons', columns: ['id', 'persons.name'] })); }

Limits and offsets

You can apply limit and offset to the query:

export function request(ctx) { // Generates statement: // SELECT "id", "name" // FROM "persons" // LIMIT :limit // OFFSET :offset return createPgStatement(select({ table: 'persons', columns: ['id', 'name'], limit: 10, offset: 40 })); }

Order By

You can sort your results with the orderBy property. Provide an array of objects specifying the column and an optional dir property:

export function request(ctx) { // Generates statement: // SELECT "id", "name" FROM "persons" // ORDER BY "name", "id" DESC return createPgStatement(select({ table: 'persons', columns: ['id', 'name'], orderBy: [{column: 'name'}, {column: 'id', dir: 'DESC'}] })); }

Filters

You can build filters by using the special condition object:

export function request(ctx) { // Generates statement: // SELECT "id", "name" // FROM "persons" // WHERE "name" = :NAME return createPgStatement(select({ table: 'persons', columns: ['id', 'name'], where: {name: {eq: 'Stephane'}} })); }

You can also combine filters:

export function request(ctx) { // Generates statement: // SELECT "id", "name" // FROM "persons" // WHERE "name" = :NAME and "id" > :ID return createPgStatement(select({ table: 'persons', columns: ['id', 'name'], where: {name: {eq: 'Stephane'}, id: {gt: 10}} })); }

You can also create OR statements:

export function request(ctx) { // Generates statement: // SELECT "id", "name" // FROM "persons" // WHERE "name" = :NAME OR "id" > :ID return createPgStatement(select({ table: 'persons', columns: ['id', 'name'], where: { or: [ { name: { eq: 'Stephane'} }, { id: { gt: 10 } } ]} })); }

You can also negate a condition with not:

export function request(ctx) { // Generates statement: // SELECT "id", "name" // FROM "persons" // WHERE NOT ("name" = :NAME AND "id" > :ID) return createPgStatement(select({ table: 'persons', columns: ['id', 'name'], where: { not: [ { name: { eq: 'Stephane'} }, { id: { gt: 10 } } ]} })); }

You can also use the following operators to compare values:

Operator Description Possible value types
eq Equal number, string, boolean
ne Not equal number, string, boolean
le Less than or equal number, string
lt Less than number, string
ge Greater than or equal number, string
gt Greater than number, string
contains Like string
notContains Not like string
beginsWith Starts with prefix string
between Between two values number, string
attributeExists The attribute is not null number, string, boolean
size checks the length of the element string

The insert utility provides a straightforward way of inserting single row items in your database with the INSERT operation.

Single item insertions

To insert an item, specify the table and then pass in your object of values. The object keys are mapped to your table columns. Columns names are automatically escaped, and values are sent to the database using the variable map:

import { insert, createMySQLStatement } from '@aws-appsync/utils/rds'; export function request(ctx) { const { input: values } = ctx.args; const insertStatement = insert({ table: 'persons', values }); // Generates statement: // INSERT INTO `persons`(`name`) // VALUES(:NAME) return createMySQLStatement(insertStatement) }

MySQL use case

You can combine an insert followed by a select to retrieve your inserted row:

import { insert, select, createMySQLStatement } from '@aws-appsync/utils/rds'; export function request(ctx) { const { input: values } = ctx.args; const insertStatement = insert({ table: 'persons', values }); const selectStatement = select({ table: 'persons', columns: '*', where: { id: { eq: values.id } }, limit: 1, }); // Generates statement: // INSERT INTO `persons`(`name`) // VALUES(:NAME) // and // SELECT * // FROM `persons` // WHERE `id` = :ID return createMySQLStatement(insertStatement, selectStatement) }

Postgres use case

With Postgres, you can use returning to obtain data from the row that you inserted. It accepts * or an array of column names:

import { insert, createPgStatement } from '@aws-appsync/utils/rds'; export function request(ctx) { const { input: values } = ctx.args; const insertStatement = insert({ table: 'persons', values, returning: '*' }); // Generates statement: // INSERT INTO "persons"("name") // VALUES(:NAME) // RETURNING * return createPgStatement(insertStatement) }

The update utility allows you to update existing rows. You can use the condition object to apply changes to the specified columns in all the rows that satisfy the condition. For example, let's say we have a schema that allows us to make this mutation. We want to update the name of Person with the id value of 3 but only if we've known them (known_since) since the year 2000:

mutation Update { updatePerson( input: {id: 3, name: "Jon"}, condition: {known_since: {ge: "2000"}} ) { id name } }

Our update resolver looks like this:

import { update, createPgStatement } from '@aws-appsync/utils/rds'; export function request(ctx) { const { input: { id, ...values }, condition } = ctx.args; const where = { ...condition, id: { eq: id }, }; const updateStatement = update({ table: 'persons', values, where, returning: ['id', 'name'], }); // Generates statement: // UPDATE "persons" // SET "name" = :NAME, "birthday" = :BDAY, "country" = :COUNTRY // WHERE "id" = :ID // RETURNING "id", "name" return createPgStatement(updateStatement) }

We can add a check to our condition to make sure that only the row that has the primary key id equal to 3 is updated. Similarly, for Postgres inserts, you can use returning to return the modified data.

The remove utility allows you to delete existing rows. You can use the condition object on all rows that satisfy the condition. Note that delete is a reserved keyword in JavaScript. remove should be used instead:

import { remove, createPgStatement } from '@aws-appsync/utils/rds'; export function request(ctx) { const { input: { id }, condition } = ctx.args; const where = { ...condition, id: { eq: id } }; const deleteStatement = remove({ table: 'persons', where, returning: ['id', 'name'], }); // Generates statement: // DELETE "persons" // WHERE "id" = :ID // RETURNING "id", "name" return createPgStatement(updateStatement) }

Casting

In some cases, you may want more specificity about the correct object type to use in your statement. You can use the provided type hints to specify the type of your parameters. AWS AppSync supports the same type hints as the Data API. You can cast your parameters by using the typeHint functions from the AWS AppSync rds module.

The following example allows you to send an array as a value that is casted as a JSON object. We use the -> operator to retrieve the element at the index 2 in the JSON array:

import { sql, createPgStatement, toJsonObject, typeHint } from '@aws-appsync/utils/rds'; export function request(ctx) { const arr = ctx.args.list_of_ids const statement = sql`select ${typeHint.JSON(arr)}->2 as value` return createPgStatement(statement) } export function response(ctx) { return toJsonObject(ctx.result)[0][0].value }

Casting is also useful when handling and comparing DATE, TIME, and TIMESTAMP:

import { select, createPgStatement, typeHint } from '@aws-appsync/utils/rds'; export function request(ctx) { const when = ctx.args.when const statement = select({ table: 'persons', where: { createdAt : { gt: typeHint.DATETIME(when) } } }) return createPgStatement(statement) }

Here's another example showing how you can send the current date and time:

import { sql, createPgStatement, typeHint } from '@aws-appsync/utils/rds'; export function request(ctx) { const now = util.time.nowFormatted('YYYY-MM-dd HH:mm:ss') return createPgStatement(sql`select ${typeHint.TIMESTAMP(now)}`) }

Available type hints

  • typeHint.DATE - The corresponding parameter is sent as an object of the DATE type to the database. The accepted format is YYYY-MM-DD.

  • typeHint.DECIMAL - The corresponding parameter is sent as an object of the DECIMAL type to the database.

  • typeHint.JSON - The corresponding parameter is sent as an object of the JSON type to the database.

  • typeHint.TIME - The corresponding string parameter value is sent as an object of the TIME type to the database. The accepted format is HH:MM:SS[.FFF].

  • typeHint.TIMESTAMP - The corresponding string parameter value is sent as an object of the TIMESTAMP type to the database. The accepted format is YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS[.FFF].

  • typeHint.UUID - The corresponding string parameter value is sent as an object of the UUID type to the database.