Skip to content
Open
Show file tree
Hide file tree
Changes from all commits
Commits
File filter

Filter by extension

Filter by extension

Conversations
Failed to load comments.
Loading
Jump to
Jump to file
Failed to load files.
Loading
Diff view
Diff view
85 changes: 85 additions & 0 deletions docs-website/topics/configure-json-serialization.md
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
[//]: # (title: JSON serialization overview)

The Kotlin serialization library allows you to easily convert Kotlin objects to JSON and back.
The [`Json`](https://kotlinlang.org/api/kotlinx.serialization/kotlinx-serialization-json/kotlinx.serialization.json/-json/) class is the primary tool for this, offering flexibility in how JSON is generated and parsed.
You can configure `Json` instances to handle specific JSON behaviors or use its default instance for basic tasks.

With the `Json` class, you can:

* Serialize Kotlin objects to JSON strings using the [`encodeToString()`](https://kotlinlang.org/api/kotlinx.serialization/kotlinx-serialization-json/kotlinx.serialization.json/-json/encode-to-string.html) function.
* Deserialize JSON strings back to Kotlin objects with the [`decodeFromString()`](https://kotlinlang.org/api/kotlinx.serialization/kotlinx-serialization-json/kotlinx.serialization.json/-json/decode-from-string.html) function.
* [Work directly with the `JsonElement`](serialization-json-elements.md) when handling complex JSON structures using the [`encodeToJsonElement()`](https://kotlinlang.org/api/kotlinx.serialization/kotlinx-serialization-json/kotlinx.serialization.json/encode-to-json-element.html) and the [`decodeFromJsonElement()`](https://kotlinlang.org/api/kotlinx.serialization/kotlinx-serialization-json/kotlinx.serialization.json/decode-from-json-element.html) functions.
* Use JVM streams with the [`encodeToStream()`](https://kotlinlang.org/api/kotlinx.serialization/kotlinx-serialization-json/kotlinx.serialization.json/encode-to-stream.html) [`.decodeFromStream()`](https://kotlinlang.org/api/kotlinx.serialization/kotlinx-serialization-json/kotlinx.serialization.json/decode-from-stream.html), and [`.decodeToSequence()`](https://kotlinlang.org/api/kotlinx.serialization/kotlinx-serialization-json/kotlinx.serialization.json/decode-to-sequence.html) functions to work with JSON directly from input and output streams.

Before you start, import the following declarations from the serialization library:

```kotlin
import kotlinx.serialization.*
import kotlinx.serialization.json.*
```

Here's a simple example that uses the default `Json` instance to show how JSON serialization works in Kotlin:

```kotlin
// Imports declarations from the serialization library
import kotlinx.serialization.*
import kotlinx.serialization.json.*

//sampleStart
@Serializable
data class User(val name: String, val age: Int)

fun main() {
// Uses the default Json instance
val json = Json

// Creates a User object
val user = User("Alice", 30)

// Converts the User object to a JSON string
val jsonString = json.encodeToString(user)
println(jsonString)
// {"name":"Alice","age":30}

// Converts the JSON string back to a User object
val deserializedUser = json.decodeFromString<User>(jsonString)
println(deserializedUser)
// User(name=Alice, age=30)
//sampleEnd
}
```
{kotlin-runnable="true"}

In addition to using the default configuration, you can [customize the `Json` instance](serialization-json-configuration.md) for specific different use cases,
such as ignoring unknown keys:

```kotlin
// Imports declarations from the serialization library
import kotlinx.serialization.*
import kotlinx.serialization.json.*

@Serializable
data class Project(val name: String)

//sampleStart
// Configures a Json instance to ignore unknown keys
val customJson = Json {
ignoreUnknownKeys = true
Copy link
Member

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Should this snippet be here? It feels incomplete. You can remove it or add customJson.decodeFromString() to show what it does

Copy link
Author

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

I think it should be.. 🤔 It's probably not too much information for the user learning about it for the first time, so let's just make it a complete example 👍

Copy link
Member

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

You have one at the beginning of serialization-json-configuration.md page, maybe you can reuse it here

}

fun main() {
val data = customJson.decodeFromString<Project>("""
{"name":"kotlinx.serialization","language":"Kotlin"}
""")
println(data)
// Project(name=kotlinx.serialization)
}
//sampleEnd
```
{kotlin-runnable="true"}

## What's next

* Learn how to [customize `Json` instances](serialization-json-configuration.md) to address different use cases for serialization and deserialization.
* Explore [advanced JSON element handling](serialization-json-elements.md) to manipulate and work with JSON data before it is parsed or serialized.
* Discover how to [transform JSON during serialization and deserialization](serialization-transform-json.md) for more control over your data.
Loading