Dynamo DB Java SDK: DescribeTable response is showing wrong item count

Question

I am working on a client program to just read the tables metadata. I am using the Describe table java API to do the same:
` val describeTableRequest = DescribeTableRequest.builder()
            .tableName(tableName)
            .build()`
I am running this request again after adding an item into the table, but the DescribeTableResponse is still showing the item count as 0. I waited for 30 mins and its still the same 0. Below is the code snippet for the same:
`val describeTableResponse = client.describeTable(describeTableRequest)
        val tableDescription = describeTableResponse.table()

println("Table Name: ${tableDescription.tableName()}")
        println("Table Status: ${tableDescription.tableStatus()}")
        println("Items count: ${tableDescription.itemCount()}")`

Client is basically created using the below snippet:
`val client = DynamoDbClient.builder()
        .credentialsProvider { AwsBasicCredentials.create(accessKey, secretKey) }
        .region(Region.of(region))
        .build()`

Please note that the Scan Request-Response is showing the right count but it is scanning the whole table and is not needed for me. I just need the basic metadata of the table.

Please let me know if I am missing anything here.

jzhunter · Accepted Answer

That item count is updated approximately every six hours. In the Console where you see the item count you get a note to this effect.

![Console screen shot](/media/postImages/original/IM_Bsp6_onRBum6EKyH6Oh2w)

If you want to track counts over time, there's [a blog discussing that](https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/database/how-to-use-amazon-cloudwatch-to-monitor-amazon-dynamodb-table-size-and-item-count-metrics/).

Dynamo DB Java SDK: DescribeTable response is showing wrong item count

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