Creating JSON values

There are several ways to create a JSON value in memory. This page gives an overview; to read a value from JSON text instead, see parsing.

From C++ values

Any value of a supported C++ type can be assigned to or used to construct a json:

json j_number  = 42;
json j_float   = 3.141;
json j_string  = "Hello";
json j_boolean = true;
json j_null    = nullptr;
json j_vector  = std::vector<int>{1, 2, 3};   // array

See converting values for the full set of supported types.

With initializer lists

Objects and arrays can be written concisely with brace-enclosed initializer lists:

// an array
json array = {1, 2, 3, 4};

// an object (a list of key/value pairs)
json object = {
    {"pi", 3.141},
    {"happy", true},
    {"name", "Niels"},
    {"nothing", nullptr},
    {"list", {1, 0, 2}},
    {"object", {{"currency", "USD"}, {"value", 42.99}}}
};

The library decides between an array and an object based on the content: a list whose elements are all two-element lists with a string as the first element is treated as an object, everything else as an array.

!!! warning “Ambiguous cases: #!cpp {} vs. #!cpp []”

Because the same `#!cpp {}` syntax is used for both arrays and objects, some cases are ambiguous. To force a
particular type, use the explicit factory functions [`json::array`](../api/basic_json/array.md) and
[`json::object`](../api/basic_json/object.md):

```cpp
json empty_array_explicit = json::array();               // []
json empty_object_explicit = json::object();             // {}

// a JSON array with one object, not an object with one member
json array_of_objects = json::array({{"key", "value"}}); // [{"key":"value"}]
```

Related to this, single-element brace initialization such as `#!cpp json j{value};` wraps the element in a
single-element **array** by default, and its behavior even differs between compilers. See the
[FAQ](../home/faq.md#brace-initialization-yields-arrays) for details and the opt-in
[`JSON_BRACE_INIT_COPY_SEMANTICS`](../api/macros/json_brace_init_copy_semantics.md) macro.

Building incrementally

A value can also be built up piece by piece. Accessing a non-existing object key or array index with operator[] creates the element on the fly:

json j;                    // null
j["answer"]["everything"] = 42;   // becomes an object
j["list"] = {1, 0, 2};
j["list"].push_back(3);           // [1,0,2,3]

See modifying values for push_back, emplace, and related functions.

With the _json literal

The _json user-defined literal parses a string at the call site and is a convenient way to write a JSON value inline:

??? example

```cpp
--8<-- "examples/operator_literal_json.cpp"
```

Output:

```json
--8<-- "examples/operator_literal_json.output"
```

Note this parses the string, so #!cpp "42"_json is the number #!cpp 42, whereas #!cpp json("42") is the JSON string #!json "42".

See also