Read JSON Files using Python

April 27, 2024

The ‘json‘ module can be used to read JSON files in Python.

In this short guide, you’ll see several examples of reading JSON files using Python.

Example of Reading a JSON File in Python

Here is an example of a simple JSON file called example.json:

{
    "product": "Computer",
    "price": 1300,
    "brand": "A"
}

To read that JSON file using Python:

import json

# Specify the path to your JSON file
file_path = "example.json"

# Open the file in read mode
with open(file_path, "r") as file:
    data = json.load(file)

# Get the full data
print(data)

The result:

{'product': 'Computer', 'price': 1300, 'brand': 'A'}

To access specific data from the JSON file:

import json

# Specify the path to your JSON file
file_path = "example.json"

# Open the file in read mode
with open(file_path, "r") as file:
    data = json.load(file)

# Access the data
print("Product:", data["product"])
print("Price:", data["price"])
print("Brand:", data["brand"])

The result:

Product: Computer
Price: 1300
Brand: A

Additional Examples of Different JSON files

Example 1: Simple Nested JSON

The JSON file:

{
    "product": {
        "name": "Computer",
        "price": 1300,
        "shop_address": {
            "city": "Remote City",
            "country": "Remote Country"
        }
    }
}

The Python script to read the JSON file:

import json

# Specify the path to your JSON file
file_path = "example.json"

# Open the file in read mode
with open(file_path, "r") as file:
    data = json.load(file)

# Access the data
print("Name:", data["product"]["name"])
print("Price:", data["product"]["price"])
print("City:", data["product"]["shop_address"]["city"])
print("Country:", data["product"]["shop_address"]["country"])

The result:

Name: Computer
Price: 1300
City: Remote City
Country: Remote Country

Example 2: List of Objects

The JSON file:

[
    {"product": "Computer", "price": 1300},
    {"product": "Printer", "price": 150},
    {"product": "Keyboard", "price": 50}
]

The Python script:

import json

# Specify the path to your JSON file
file_path = "example.json"

# Open the file in read mode
with open(file_path, "r") as file:
    data = json.load(file)

# Access data in the list
for item in data:
    print("Name:", item["product"])
    print("Price:", item["price"])
    print("-----")

The result:

Name: Computer
Price: 1300
-----
Name: Printer
Price: 150
-----
Name: Keyboard
Price: 50
-----

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