--data flag does not accept json arrays

[reubenmiller]

The --data flag does not accept a valid json array. So it seems that somewhere along the lines the --data assumes it is only accepting either shorthand syntax (e.g. item.value=1) or a json object.

c8y api post /example --data '[{"fragment": "myTemp","series": "myT" }, {"fragment": "myWind","series": "mySpeed"} ]' --dry

Output

c8y api post /example --data '[{"fragment": "myTemp","series": "myT" }, {"fragment": "myWind","series": "mySpeed"} ]' --dry
2025-02-13T08:39:28.436+0100	ERROR	commandError: json error: data parameter does not contain valid json or shorthand json. Invalid shorthand JSON: Uneven number of key value pairs

Workaround

Use the --template flag instead as it accepts all valid json (as the templating language, jsonnet, is a superset of json, so it accepts both json and jsonnet syntax).

c8y api post /example --template '{"v":[{"fragment": "myTemp","series": "myT" }, {"fragment": "myWind","series": "mySpeed"} ]}' --dry

[reubenmiller]

In the meantime, in the next release, the user will be presented with a more meaningful error which also guides them to use the --template flag instead:

$ c8y inventory create --data '["one"]' --dry

2025-02-16T19:58:58.857+0100    ERROR   commandError: invalid data type (array) provided on the 'data' flag. Currently only key/value or json objects are supported. Hint: Try using the 'template' flag instead