How to fix Error: Error creating DynamoDB Table: ResourceInUseException in Terraform

First, confirm whether the DynamoDB table actually exists in your AWS account:

aws dynamodb list-tables --region us-east-1

Or use the AWS Console: Go to DynamoDB > Tables and check if a table with your configured name exists. If it exists, move to step 2. If it doesn't exist, move to step 4.

If the table exists but isn't managed by Terraform, import it into your Terraform state:

terraform import aws_dynamodb_table.my_table my-table-name

Replace my_table with your resource name in Terraform and my-table-name with the actual table name in AWS. This tells Terraform to manage the existing resource instead of creating a new one.

After importing, run:

terraform plan

Verify the plan shows no changes. If it does, your Terraform configuration may not match the existing table—update your configuration accordingly.

After importing, ensure your Terraform configuration exactly matches the existing table's configuration:

resource "aws_dynamodb_table" "my_table" {
  name           = "my-table-name"
  billing_mode   = "PAY_PER_REQUEST"  # Or PROVISIONED
  hash_key       = "id"
  range_key      = "sort_key"         # If applicable

  attribute {
    name = "id"
    type = "S"
  }

  ttl {
    attribute_name = "TTL"  # If TTL is enabled
    enabled        = true
  }
}

Compare with your actual table configuration in the AWS Console. Update your Terraform code to match exactly, then run terraform plan again to ensure no changes are needed.

If the table is in a transitional state (e.g., updating a Global Secondary Index), wait for the operation to complete before running Terraform again:

aws dynamodb describe-table --table-name my-table-name --region us-east-1

Check the "TableStatus" field. It should be "ACTIVE" before Terraform can modify it. Common transitional states include:
- CREATING: Table is being created
- UPDATING: GSI or capacity is being modified
- DELETING: Table is being deleted

Wait for the operation to complete (check every 30 seconds), then retry:

terraform apply

If you don't want to manage the existing table with Terraform, create a new table with a different name:

resource "aws_dynamodb_table" "my_table" {
  name           = "my-table-name-v2"  # Changed name
  billing_mode   = "PAY_PER_REQUEST"
  hash_key       = "id"

  attribute {
    name = "id"
    type = "S"
  }
}

Then run:

terraform apply

If the old table is no longer needed, delete it manually through the AWS Console.

If you're experiencing race conditions (multiple resources trying to modify the same table), ensure proper resource ordering with depends_on:

resource "aws_dynamodb_table" "my_table" {
  name           = "my-table-name"
  billing_mode   = "PAY_PER_REQUEST"
  hash_key       = "id"

  attribute {
    name = "id"
    type = "S"
  }
}

resource "aws_dynamodb_global_secondary_index" "my_gsi" {
  table_name            = aws_dynamodb_table.my_table.name
  index_name            = "gsi-index"
  hash_key              = "gsi_key"
  projection_type       = "ALL"
  write_capacity_units  = 10
  read_capacity_units   = 10

  depends_on = [aws_dynamodb_table.my_table]
}

Alternatively, define GSI within the table resource to avoid race conditions:

resource "aws_dynamodb_table" "my_table" {
  name           = "my-table-name"
  billing_mode   = "PROVISIONED"
  hash_key       = "id"
  read_capacity  = 10
  write_capacity = 10

  attribute {
    name = "id"
    type = "S"
  }

  global_secondary_index {
    name            = "gsi-index"
    hash_key        = "gsi_key"
    projection_type = "ALL"
    read_capacity   = 10
    write_capacity  = 10
  }
}

If Terraform state is severely out of sync with AWS, refresh the state:

terraform refresh

This updates the Terraform state file to reflect the current AWS infrastructure. Then review the changes:

terraform plan

If the plan shows deletions or unexpected changes, carefully review before applying:

terraform apply