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Serverless REST API on AWS

Tutorial 1 of 10 · Lambda · DynamoDB · API Gateway

Create DynamoDB table

Set up the users table with on-demand billing

Create IAM Role

Grant Lambda permissions to read/write

Write the Lambda handler

Node.js 20 with AWS SDK v3

Create API Gateway HTTP API

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AWS Lambda

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AWS Lambda

API Gateway

DynamoDB

CloudFront

Cognito

IAM

SSM

CloudWatch

Route 53

SQS

SNS

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From: Serverless REST API — Tutorial 1 of 10

Create a DynamoDB Table

Navigate to the DynamoDB console. Create a table named users with partition key userId (String). Use On-demand billing.

CLIaws dynamodb create-table
aws dynamodb create-table \
  --table-name users \
  --attribute-definitions \
    AttributeName=userId,AttributeType=S \
  --key-schema \
    AttributeName=userId,KeyType=HASH \
  --billing-mode PAY_PER_REQUEST

Create an IAM Role for Lambda

Go to IAM → Roles → Create role. Select Lambda as the trusted service. Attach AWSLambdaBasicExecutionRole then add an inline policy granting DynamoDB access.

Write the Lambda Handler

Create a Node.js 20.x function. Paste the starter code — reads a user record by userId from DynamoDB and returns it as JSON.

JSindex.mjs
import { DynamoDBClient, GetItemCommand }
  from "@aws-sdk/client-dynamodb";
import { unmarshall } from "@aws-sdk/util-dynamodb";

const db = new DynamoDBClient({});

export const handler = async (event) => {
  const { userId } = event.pathParameters;
  const { Item } = await db.send(
    new GetItemCommand({ TableName: "users",
      Key: { userId: { S: userId } } })
  );
  return { statusCode: 200,
    body: JSON.stringify(unmarshall(Item)) };
};

Create API Gateway HTTP API

Wire your Lambda to a public HTTP endpoint...

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Trusted by developers

From the YouTube comments and Discord community

★★★★★

"Finally an AWS tutorial that actually explains the IAM policies. Deployed my first Lambda in under an hour following this guide."

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Deploy real AWSinfrastructure,step by step.

Everything you need to ship on AWS

Step-by-step guides

Video + written format

Free courses available

Production-ready patterns

Beginner to advanced

Always up to date

Start with a structured course

How it works

Watch the video

Open the guide

Unlock and ship

Try it right now

Steps 4–10 are locked

Simple, honest pricing

Trusted by developers

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Deploy real AWS
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