Postgres arraytojson() function

Summary: The array_to_json(anyarray [, pretty_bool]) function converts a PostgreSQL array into a JSON array, making SQL array data consumable by web services and APIs without manual serialization. Use it when you need to export array columns as JSON, combine it with array_agg and row_to_json to build nested JSON structures from query results, or rely on its native null passthrough for arrays containing NULL values. The optional pretty_bool parameter adds line breaks between top-level elements for readable output; for finer JSON construction, json_build_array and json_build_object offer more control.

Postgres array_to_json() function

Converts an SQL array to a JSON array

You can use the array_to_json function to convert a Postgres array into its JSON representation, transforming an array of values into a JSON array. This makes it easier to integrate with web services, APIs, and web frameworks that rely on JSON.

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Function signature

SQL

array_to_json(anyarray [, pretty_bool])

Line feeds will be added between dimension 1 elements if pretty_bool is true.

`array_to_json` example

Let's consider a scenario where an e-commerce platform stores customer preferences as an array of string values in a customers table.

customers

SQL

CREATE TABLE customers (
 id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
 name TEXT NOT NULL,
 preferences TEXT[]
);

INSERT INTO customers (name, preferences)
VALUES ('John Doe', '{clothing, electronics}');

INSERT INTO customers (name, preferences)
VALUES ('Jane Doe', '{books, music, travel}');

 id  |   name   |      preferences
----+----------+------------------------
  1 | John Doe | {clothing,electronics}
  2 | Jane Doe | {books,music,travel}

You can use the array_to_json function as shown to transform the array of string values into a JSON array:

SQL

SELECT id, name, array_to_json(preferences) AS json_preferences
FROM customers;

This query returns the following result:

 id  |   name   |      json_preferences
----+----------+----------------------------
  1 | John Doe | ["clothing","electronics"]
  2 | Jane Doe | ["books","music","travel"]

Advanced examples

Let's now take a look at a few advanced examples.

Use `array_to_json` with `array_agg`

Imagine you have an e-commerce website with user's shopping cart items, as shown in the following cart_items table:

cart_items

SQL

CREATE TABLE cart_items (
 id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
 user_id INTEGER NOT NULL,
 product_id INTEGER NOT NULL,
 quantity INTEGER NOT NULL
);

INSERT INTO cart_items (user_id, product_id, quantity)
VALUES (1, 123, 1), (1, 456, 2), (1, 789, 3);


INSERT INTO cart_items (user_id, product_id, quantity)
VALUES (2, 123, 2), (2, 456, 3), (2, 789, 4);

 id  | user_id | product_id | quantity
----+---------+------------+----------
  1 |       1 |        123 |        1
  2 |       1 |        456 |        2
  3 |       1 |        789 |        3
  4 |       2 |        123 |        2
  5 |       2 |        456 |        3
  6 |       2 |        789 |        4

Use array_to_json to create a JSON representation of the cart contents for a specific user.

In the example below, the row_to_json function converts each row of the result set into a JSON object.

The array_agg function is an aggregate function that aggregates multiple values into an array. It is used here to aggregate the JSON objects created by row_to_json into a JSON array.

SQL

SELECT array_to_json(
 array_agg(row_to_json(t))
) AS items
FROM (
     SELECT product_id, quantity FROM cart_items WHERE user_id = 1
   ) t;

This query returns the following result:

Shell

                                               items
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 [{"product_id":123,"quantity":1},{"product_id":456,"quantity":2},{"product_id":789,"quantity":3}]

And this is the resulting JSON structure:

JSON

[
  {
    "product_id": 123,
    "quantity": 1
  },
  {
    "product_id": 456,
    "quantity": 2
  },
  {
    "product_id": 789,
    "quantity": 3
  }
]

Handling `NULL` in `array_to_json`

The array_to_json function handles NULL values gracefully, representing them as JSON null within the resulting array.

Let's consider a survey_responses table representing a survey where each participant can provide multiple responses to different questions. Some participants may not answer all questions, leading to NULL values in the data.

SQL

CREATE TABLE survey_responses (
   participant_id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
   participant_name VARCHAR(50),
   responses VARCHAR(50)[]
);

-- Insert sample data with NULL responses
INSERT INTO survey_responses (participant_name, responses) VALUES
   ('Participant A', ARRAY['Yes', 'No', 'Maybe']),
   ('Participant B', ARRAY['Yes', NULL, 'No']),
   ('Participant C', ARRAY[NULL, 'No', 'Yes']),
   ('Participant D', ARRAY['Yes', 'No', NULL]);

 participant_id  | participant_name |   responses
----------------+------------------+----------------
              1 | Participant A    | {Yes,No,Maybe}
              2 | Participant B    | {Yes,NULL,No}
              3 | Participant C    | {NULL,No,Yes}
              4 | Participant D    | {Yes,No,NULL}

The output correctly represents NULL values as JSON null in the responses_json array.

SQL

SELECT
   participant_id,
   participant_name,
   array_to_json(COALESCE(responses, ARRAY[]::VARCHAR[])) AS responses_json
FROM
   survey_responses;

This query returns the following result:

participant_id | participant_name | responses_json
---------------+-----------------=+---------------------
             1 | Participant A    | ["Yes","No","Maybe"]
             2 | Participant B    | ["Yes",null,"No"]
             3 | Participant C    | [null,"No","Yes"]
             4 | Participant D    | ["Yes","No",null]

Additional considerations

This section outlines additional considerations when using the array_to_json function.

JSON functions

In scenarios where more control over the JSON structure is required, consider using the json_build_array and json_build_object functions. These functions allow for a more fine-grained construction of JSON objects and arrays.

Formatting `array_to_json` output with `pretty_bool`

The pretty_bool parameter, when set to true, instructs array_to_json to format the output with indentation and line breaks for improved readability.

Execute the earlier query with pretty_bool as true:

SQL

SELECT array_to_json(
 array_agg(row_to_json(t)), true
) AS items
FROM (
     select product_id, quantity from cart_items WHERE user_id = 1
   ) t;

This query returns the following result:

               items
-----------------------------------
 [{"product_id":123,"quantity":1},+
  {"product_id":456,"quantity":2},+
  {"product_id":789,"quantity":3}]

Note: The output displayed in psql might be truncated or wrap long lines for visual clarity.

Resources

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Postgres array_to_json() function

Function signature

array_to_json example

Advanced examples

Use array_to_json with array_agg

Handling NULL in array_to_json

Additional considerations

JSON functions

Formatting array_to_json output with pretty_bool

Resources

Related docs (JSON functions)

`array_to_json` example

Use `array_to_json` with `array_agg`

Handling `NULL` in `array_to_json`

Formatting `array_to_json` output with `pretty_bool`