JSON JSONPath

JSONPath is a query language for JSON, similar to XPath for XML. AlertSite API endpoint monitors let you use JSONPath in assertions to specify the JSON fields that need to be verified.

JSONPath Notation

A JSONPath expression specifies a path to an element (or a set of elements) in a JSON structure. Paths can use the dot notation:

$.store.book[0].title

or the bracket notation:

$['store']['book'][0]['title']

The leading $ represents the root object or array and can be omitted. For example, $.foo.bar and foo.barare the same, and so are $[0].status and [0].status.

Other syntax elements are described below.

Expression	Description
$	The root object or array.
.property	Selects the specified property in a parent object.
['property']	Selects the specified property in a parent object. Be sure to put single quotes around the property name. Tip: Use this notation if the property name contains special characters such as spaces, or begins with a character other than A..Za..z_.
[n]	Selects the n-th element from an array. Indexes are 0-based.
[index1,index2,…]	Selects array elements with the specified indexes. Returns a list.
..property	Recursive descent: Searches for the specified property name recursively and returns an array of all values with this property name. Always returns a list, even if just one property is found.
*	Wildcard selects all elements in an object or an array, regardless of their names or indexes. For example, address.* means all properties of the address object, and book[*] means all items of the book array.
[start:end] [start:]	Selects array elements from the start index and up to, but not including, end index. If end is omitted, selects all elements from start until the end of the array. Returns a list.
[:n]	Selects the first n elements of the array. Returns a list.
[-n:]	Selects the last n elements of the array. Returns a list.
[?(expression)]	Filter expression. Selects all elements in an object or array that match the specified filter. Returns a list.
[(expression)]	Script expressions can be used instead of explicit property names or indexes. An example is [(@.length-1)] which selects the last item in an array. Here, length refers to the length of the current array rather than a JSON field named length.
@	Used in filter expressions to refer to the current node being processed.

Notes:

• JSONPath expressions, including property names and values, are case-sensitive.

• Unlike XPath, JSONPath does not have operations for accessing parent or sibling nodes from the given node.

Filters

Filters are logical expressions used to filter arrays. An example of a JSONPath expression with a filter is

$.store.book[?(@.price < 10)]

where @ represents the current array item or object being processed. Filters can also use $ to refer to the properties outside of the current object:

$.store.book[?(@.price < $.expensive)]

An expression that specifies just a property name, such as [?(@.isbn)], matches all items that have this property, regardless of the value.

Additionally, filters support the following operators:

Operator	Description
==	Equals to. 1 and '1' are considered equal. String values must be enclosed in single quotes (not double quotes): [?(@.color=='red')].
!=	Not equal to. String values must be enclosed in single quotes.
>	Greater than.
>=	Greater than or equal to.
<	Less than.
<=	Less than or equal to.
=~	Match a JavaScript regular expression. For example, [?(@.description =~ /cat.*/i)] matches items whose description starts with cat (case-insensitive). Note: Not supported at locations that use Ready! API 1.1.
!	Use to negate a filter: [?(!@.isbn)] matches items that do not have the isbn property. Note: Not supported at locations that use Ready! API 1.1.
&&	Logical AND, used to combine multiple filter expressions: [?(@.category=='fiction' && @.price < 10)]
||	Logical OR, used to combine multiple filter expressions: [?(@.category=='fiction' || @.price < 10)] Note: Not supported at locations that use Ready! API 1.1.

Examples

For these examples, we will use a modified version of JSON from http://goessner.net/articles/JsonPath/index.html#e3:

{
  "store": {
    "book": [
      {
        "category": "reference",
        "author": "Nigel Rees",
        "title": "Sayings of the Century",
        "price": 8.95
      },
      {
        "category": "fiction",
        "author": "Herman Melville",
        "title": "Moby Dick",
        "isbn": "0-553-21311-3",
        "price": 8.99
      },
      {
        "category": "fiction",
        "author": "J.R.R. Tolkien",
        "title": "The Lord of the Rings",
        "isbn": "0-395-19395-8",
        "price": 22.99
      }
    ],
    "bicycle": {
      "color": "red",
      "price": 19.95
    }
  },
  "expensive": 10
}

In all these examples, the leading $. is optional and can be omitted.

Expression	Meaning
$.store.*	All direct properties of store (not recursive).
$.store.bicycle.color	The color of the bicycle in the store. Result: red
$.store..price $..price	The prices of all items in the store. Result: [8.95, 8.99, 22.99, 19.95]
$.store.book[*] $..book[*]	All books in the store.
$..book[*].title	The titles of all books in the store. Result: [Sayings of the Century, Moby Dick, The Lord of the Rings]
$..book[0]	The first book. Result: [{"category":"reference","author":"Nigel Rees","title":"Sayings of the Century","price":8.95}]
$..book[0].title	The title of the first book. Result: Sayings of the Century
$..book[0,1].title $..book[:2].title	The titles of the first two books. Result: [Sayings of the Century, Moby Dick]
$..book[-1:].title $..book[(@.length-1)].title	The title of the last book. Result: [The Lord of the Rings] The result is a list, because [-n:] always returns lists.
$..book[?(@.author=='J.R.R. Tolkien')].title	The titles of all books by J.R.R. Tolkien (exact match, case-sensitive). Result: [The Lord of the Rings] The result is a list, because filters always return lists.
$..book[?(@.isbn)]	All books that have the isbn property.
$..book[?(!@.isbn)]	All books without the isbn property.
$..book[?(@.price < 10)]	All books cheaper than 10.
$..book[?(@.price > $.expensive)]	All expensive books.
$..book[?(@.author =~ /.*Tolkien/i)]	All books whose author name ends with Tolkien (case-insensitive).
$..book[?(@.category == 'fiction' || @.category == 'reference')]	All fiction and reference books.
$..*	All members of the JSON structure beneath the root (child objects, individual property values, array items), combined into an array.

Considerations for JSONPath Expressions That Return Multiple Elements

JSONPath queries can return not just a single element, but also a list of matching elements. For example, given this JSON:

{
  "name": "Rose Kolodny",
  "phoneNumbers": [
    {
      "type": "home",
      "number": "954-555-1234"
    },
    {
      "type": "work",
      "number": "754-555-5678"
    }
  ]
}

the JSONPath expression

phoneNumbers[*].number

returns a list containing two phone numbers:

[954-555-1234, 754-555-5678]

Note that this is not a JSON array, it is just a comma-separated list of items where [ ] indicates the beginning and end of the list.

When using “equals” assertions against a list of matches, specify a list of expected values enclosed in [ ] and separated by a comma and one space:

[apples, 15, false, ["foo","bar"], {"status":"ok"}]

Standalone strings (like apples) should not have enclosing quotes, unless the quotes are part of the value.

Example

Values that are JSON arrays and objects keep inner quotes, but are minified with no spaces between their items: ["foo","bar"], not [ "foo" , "bar" ].

FAQ

How can I check that my JSONPath syntax is valid?

If you have Ready! API 1.9, you can create a test for your API endpoint, add a JSONPath Match assertion and test the syntax in the assertion editor there.

Otherwise, you can use http://jsonpath.herokuapp.com and check the results on the Jayway tab. However, the syntax used on this site may be slightly different from the one used in AlertSite.

See Also

API Assertions
Creating an API Endpoint Monitor
API Endpoint Monitor Settings