# GetItem
<a name="aws-appsync-resolver-mapping-template-reference-dynamodb-getitem"></a>

The `GetItem` request mapping document lets you tell the AWS AppSync DynamoDB resolver to make a `GetItem` request to DynamoDB, and enables you to specify:
+ The key of the item in DynamoDB
+ Whether to use a consistent read or not

The `GetItem` mapping document has the following structure:

```
{
    "version" : "2017-02-28",
    "operation" : "GetItem",
    "key" : {
        "foo" : ... typed value,
        "bar" : ... typed value
    },
    "consistentRead" : true,
    "projection" : {
        ...
    }
}
```

The fields are defined as follows:

## GetItem fields
<a name="getitem-list"></a>

### GetItem fields list
<a name="getitem-list-col"></a>

 **`version`**   
The template definition version. `2017-02-28` and `2018-05-29` are currently supported. This value is required.

 **`operation`**   
The DynamoDB operation to perform. To perform the `GetItem` DynamoDB operation, this must be set to `GetItem`. This value is required.

 **`key`**   
The key of the item in DynamoDB. DynamoDB items may have a single hash key, or a hash key and sort key, depending on the table structure. For more information about how to specify a “typed value”, see [Type system (request mapping)](aws-appsync-resolver-mapping-template-reference-dynamodb-typed-values-request.md). This value is required.

 **`consistentRead`**   
Whether or not to perform a strongly consistent read with DynamoDB. This is optional, and defaults to `false`.

**`projection`**  
A projection that's used to specify the attributes to return from the DynamoDB operation. For more information about projections, see [Projections](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/appsync/latest/devguide/resolver-mapping-template-reference-dynamodb.html#aws-appsync-resolver-mapping-template-reference-dynamodb-projections). This field is optional.

The item returned from DynamoDB is automatically converted into GraphQL and JSON primitive types, and is available in the mapping context (`$context.result`).

For more information about DynamoDB type conversion, see [Type system (response mapping)](aws-appsync-resolver-mapping-template-reference-dynamodb-typed-values-responses.md).

For more information about response mapping templates, see [Resolver mapping template overview](resolver-mapping-template-reference-overview.md#aws-appsync-resolver-mapping-template-reference-overview).

## Example
<a name="example"></a>

The following example is a mapping template for a GraphQL query `getThing(foo: String!, bar: String!)`:

```
{
    "version" : "2017-02-28",
    "operation" : "GetItem",
    "key" : {
        "foo" : $util.dynamodb.toDynamoDBJson($ctx.args.foo),
        "bar" : $util.dynamodb.toDynamoDBJson($ctx.args.bar)
    },
    "consistentRead" : true
}
```

For more information about the DynamoDB `GetItem` API, see the [DynamoDB API documentation](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/APIReference/API_GetItem.html).