How to format a json string in python

Question

I have a JSON string (simplified version shown below), and I'd like to be able to format it to dynamically insert values into the "item" field:

"""{"a":[{"id":1,"item":{}},{"id":2,"item":{}}]}""".format(8,0)

I get KeyError: '"a"' when I do this, presumably because I need to escape all the other brackets. The actual json I have is quite a bit more complex, and it would be a pain to escape all the brackets. Is there an easier way to do this?

Tim Woocker · Accepted Answer · 2016-01-12 19:46:39Z

1

Use the buildin json module:

import json
data = json.loads(yourjson)
data["a"][0]["item"] = 8
data["a"][1]["item"] = 0
text = json.dumps(dict)

answered Jan 12, 2016 at 19:46

Tim Woocker

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mgilson · Accepted Answer · 2016-01-12 19:43:14Z

0

You could use % style formatting:

"""{"a":[{"id":1,"item":%s},{"id":2,"item":%s}]}""" % (8,0)

However, that still feels quite flaky. I think it's probably better to work with python objects (e.g. dict, list) and then you can convert those objects to JSON using json.dumps.

answered Jan 12, 2016 at 19:43

mgilson

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