---
id: dynamo-json
version: "1.2.0"
license: unclear
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: abandoned
---

# dynamo-json — Swap between DynamoDB JSON and normal JSON

License: permissive · Maintenance: abandoned · Downloads: 138.5K/mo

## What it is and what it does

dynamo-json is a small utility that translates between DynamoDB's native JSON representation (which includes type descriptors like {"S": "value"} for strings and {"L": [...]} for lists) and standard JSON. It provides both a Python library with marshall() and unmarshall() functions and a CLI tool for quick conversions. The package has no runtime dependencies, making it lightweight to install.

The tool is useful when working with DynamoDB's low-level API or when you need to inspect or transform DynamoDB responses into plain JSON. However, the project is abandoned—the last release was 2020-06-30 and the last commit 2022-12-08—so it will not receive updates for Python compatibility, security issues, or bug fixes. Modern DynamoDB clients (like boto3 with its resource layer) often handle this conversion automatically, so you may not need this package unless you're working with raw DynamoDB JSON or legacy code.

Use it for:

- Convert plain JSON objects to DynamoDB type-descriptor format for low-level API calls or testing
- Transform DynamoDB API responses back to standard JSON for easier inspection or downstream processing
- Quick command-line conversion of JSON documents to verify DynamoDB format without writing code
- Legacy codebases that predate boto3's resource abstraction and need manual format translation

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Converts between DynamoDB's native JSON format (with type descriptors) and standard JSON, via library functions or a command-line tool.

No. The package is abandoned (last release 2020-06-30, no updates since 2022) and will not receive maintenance or security updates. Modern DynamoDB clients like boto3 handle this conversion automatically. Install only if you have legacy code that explicitly depends on it or are working with raw DynamoDB JSON in a controlled, non-production environment.

## Install

pip install dynamo-json
uv add dynamo-json
poetry add dynamo-json

## Installing dynamo-json

Before you install: Low install friction with no runtime dependencies. Maintenance is abandoned—last release was 2020-06-30 and last commit 2022-12-08—so expect no updates for security, compatibility, or bug fixes.

License in practice: MIT license (permissive) means you can use, modify, and distribute freely with minimal restrictions.

Quickstart:

pip install dynamo_json

import dynamo_json

# Convert normal JSON to DynamoDB format
dynamo_json.marshall({"some": ["json", "document"]})
# {"some": {"L": [{"S": "json"}, {"S": "document"}]}}

# Convert DynamoDB format back to normal JSON
dynamo_json.unmarshall({"some": {"L": [{"S": "json"}, {"S": "document"}]}})
# {"some": ["json", "document"]}

Verify before relying:

- Whether the package handles all DynamoDB type descriptors (binary, sets, nested structures, etc.) or only a subset
- Compatibility with modern Python versions beyond 3.8, given the abandoned status and classifiers stopping at 3.8

## Package facts

- License: not declared (permissive)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: abandoned
- Downloads: 138.5K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

dynamodb json conversion, marshall unmarshall dynamodb, dynamo type descriptors, json to dynamodb format, dynamodb data format swap, dynamodb, json-conversion, abandoned

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