Find unused DynamoDB GSIs before they keep costing you
Find unused DynamoDB GSIs and underused global secondary indexes that may be increasing storage, write, and table management costs.
What is DynamoDB unused GSI detection?
DynamoDB unused GSI detection identifies global secondary indexes that appear stale, underused, or disconnected from current access patterns. Dynasight helps teams review those indexes as part of DynamoDB GSI cost optimization.
- Identify unused and underused global secondary indexes.
- Understand storage and write-cost impact.
- Review stale indexes with table and workload context.
Why stale indexes matter
A GSI can keep charging rent after the feature is gone
Global secondary indexes are easy to add and easy to forget. When traffic patterns change, an index can remain attached to writes and storage even when reads no longer justify the cost.
- Unused GSIs can add storage costs.
- Write-heavy tables can pay extra for index maintenance.
- Stale indexes make table design harder to reason about.
- Manual index review is often skipped during feature work.
How Dynasight reviews GSI usage
Dynasight looks for signals that suggest an index is unused, underused, or out of proportion with the table workload. Findings help teams decide which indexes deserve deeper review before any change is made.
Usage signals
Surface indexes with little or no apparent read activity over relevant windows.
Cost context
Connect index activity to storage, write behavior, and table cost patterns.
Review workflow
Give engineers a clear reason to inspect application dependencies before removal.
FAQ
Common questions
Do unused GSIs cost money?
Yes. A global secondary index can add storage cost and may increase write cost because DynamoDB maintains the index as table data changes.
Can Dynasight delete unused GSIs automatically?
No. Dynasight uses read-only analysis and does not change your AWS account automatically. It identifies indexes that deserve review and provides context for the engineering team.
What is DynamoDB GSI cost optimization?
DynamoDB GSI cost optimization is the process of reviewing index usage, write amplification, storage footprint, and access patterns so teams do not pay for indexes they no longer need.
Keep exploring
Related DynamoDB optimization topics
Dynasight
Find DynamoDB waste before it becomes normal.
Connect read-only AWS access and turn DynamoDB cost, monitoring, and table design signals into prioritized engineering actions.