# Setting up DynamoDB (web service)
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 To use the Amazon DynamoDB web service: 

1.  [Sign up for Amazon.](#SettingUp.DynamoWebService.SignUpForAWS) 

1.  [Get an Amazon access key](#SettingUp.DynamoWebService.GetCredentials) (used to access DynamoDB programmatically). 
**Note**  
 If you plan to interact with DynamoDB only through the Amazon Web Services Management Console, you don't need an Amazon access key, and you can skip ahead to [Using the console](AccessingDynamoDB.md#ConsoleDynamoDB). 

1.  [Configure your credentials](#SettingUp.DynamoWebService.ConfigureCredentials) (used to access DynamoDB programmatically). 

## Signing up for Amazon
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 To use the DynamoDB service, you must have an Amazon account. If you don't already have an account, you are prompted to create one when you sign up. You're not charged for any Amazon services that you sign up for unless you use them. 

**To sign up for Amazon**

1. Open [https://portal.amazonaws.cn/billing/signup](https://portal.amazonaws.cn/billing/signup).

1. Follow the online instructions.

   Part of the sign-up procedure involves receiving a phone call or text message and entering a verification code on the phone keypad.

   When you sign up for an Amazon Web Services account, an *Amazon Web Services account root user* is created. The root user has access to all Amazon Web Services services and resources in the account. As a security best practice, assign administrative access to a user, and use only the root user to perform [tasks that require root user access](https://docs.amazonaws.cn/IAM/latest/UserGuide/id_root-user.html#root-user-tasks).

## Granting programmatic access
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 Before you can access DynamoDB programmatically or through the Amazon Command Line Interface (Amazon CLI), you must have programmatic access. You don't need programmatic access if you plan to use the DynamoDB console only. 

Users need programmatic access if they want to interact with Amazon outside of the Amazon Web Services Management Console. The Amazon APIs and the Amazon Command Line Interface require access keys. Whenever possible, create temporary credentials that consist of an access key ID, a secret access key, and a security token that indicates when the credentials expire.

To grant users programmatic access, choose one of the following options.


****  

| Which user needs programmatic access? | To | By | 
| --- | --- | --- | 
| IAM | Use short-term credentials to sign programmatic requests to the Amazon CLI or Amazon APIs (directly or by using the Amazon SDKs). | Following the instructions in [Using temporary credentials with Amazon resources](https://docs.amazonaws.cn//IAM/latest/UserGuide/id_credentials_temp_use-resources.html) in the IAM User Guide. | 
| IAM | (Not recommended)Use long-term credentials to sign programmatic requests to the Amazon CLI or Amazon APIs (directly or by using the Amazon SDKs). | Following the instructions in [Managing access keys for IAM users](https://docs.amazonaws.cn//IAM/latest/UserGuide/id_credentials_access-keys.html) in the IAM User Guide. | 

## Configuring your credentials
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 Before you can access DynamoDB programmatically or through the Amazon CLI, you must configure your credentials to enable authorization for your applications. 

 There are several ways to do this. For example, you can manually create the credentials file to store your access key ID and secret access key. You also can use the Amazon CLI command `aws configure` to automatically create the file. Alternatively, you can use environment variables. For more information about configuring your credentials, see the programming-specific Amazon SDK developer guide.

 To install and configure the Amazon CLI, see [Using the Amazon CLI](AccessingDynamoDB.md#Tools.CLI). 

## Integrating with other DynamoDB services
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You can integrate DynamoDB with many other Amazon services. For more information, see the following: 
+ [Using DynamoDB with other Amazon services](OtherServices.md)
+ [Amazon CloudFormation for DynamoDB](https://docs.amazonaws.cn//AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/aws-resource-dynamodb-table.html)
+ [Using Amazon Backup with DynamoDB](backuprestore_HowItWorksAWS.md)
+ [Amazon Identity and Access Management (IAM) and DynamoDB](identity-and-access-mgmt.md)
+ [Using Amazon Lambda with Amazon DynamoDB](https://docs.amazonaws.cn/lambda/latest/dg/with-ddb.html)