Reindexing

Learn how to reindex your documents when you need to rebuild or update your search index.

When to Reindex

You need to reindex when:

• Adding new fields - Make existing fields searchable
• Changing analyzers - Apply different text analysis
• Fixing data issues - Correct indexing problems
• Migrating schemas - Update key structure
• Initial indexing - Index existing data for the first time

Full Reindex

Reindex all documents in your table.

Basic Full Reindex

import DynamoSearch from 'dynamosearch';
import StandardAnalyzer from 'dynamosearch/analyzers/StandardAnalyzer';
import { DynamoDBClient, ScanCommand } from '@aws-sdk/client-dynamodb';

const client = new DynamoDBClient({});

const analyzer = new StandardAnalyzer();
const dynamosearch = new DynamoSearch({
  indexTableName: 'articles-index',
  fields: [
    { name: 'title', analyzer },
    { name: 'content', analyzer },
  ],
  keySchema: [{ name: 'id', type: 'HASH' }],
});

// Scan all items
let indexedCount = 0;
let exclusiveStartKey = undefined;

do {
  const { Items, LastEvaluatedKey } = await client.send(new ScanCommand({
    TableName: 'articles',
    ExclusiveStartKey: exclusiveStartKey,
  }));
  if (Items) {
    await dynamosearch.index(Items);
    indexedCount += Items.length;
  }
  exclusiveStartKey = LastEvaluatedKey;
} while (exclusiveStartKey);

console.log(`Reindexed ${indexedCount} items`);

Zero-Downtime Reindex

Reindex without disrupting search service.

// Write to both indexes during migration
const oldIndex = new DynamoSearch({ indexTableName: 'search-index', ... });
const newIndex = new DynamoSearch({ indexTableName: 'search-index-v2', ... });

export const handler: DynamoDBStreamHandler = async (event) => {
  // Write to both indexes
  await Promise.all([
    oldIndex.processRecords(event.Records),
    newIndex.processRecords(event.Records)
  ]);
};

// After backfill complete, switch to new index only