docs/en/sql-reference/sql-functions/json-functions/json-query-and-processing-functions/json_pretty.md
Formats a JSON document into an easy-to-read, indented string format. This function is useful for debugging or displaying JSON data in a human-readable structure.
:::tip All of the JSON functions and operators are listed in the navigation and on the overview page. :::
json_pretty(json_object_expr)
json_object_expr: The expression that represents the JSON object. The object can be a JSON column, a string containing valid JSON, or a JSON object produced by a JSON constructor function such as PARSE_JSON.Returns the formatted JSON document as a string.
- Returns NULL if the argument is NULL.
- The returned string includes newlines and spaces for indentation.
- Object keys are sorted alphabetically in the output.
Example 1: Format a simple JSON object.
mysql> SELECT json_pretty('{"b": 2, "a": 1}');
-> {
"a": 1,
"b": 2
}
Example 2: Format a JSON array.
mysql> SELECT json_pretty('[1, 2, 3]');
-> [
1,
2,
3
]
Example 3: Format a nested JSON structure.
mysql> SELECT json_pretty('{"level1": {"level2": {"level3": "value"}}}');
-> {
"level1": {
"level2": {
"level3": "value"
}
}
}
Example 4: Use with a table column containing JSON data.
mysql> CREATE TABLE json_test (id INT, data JSON);
mysql> INSERT INTO json_test VALUES (1, parse_json('{"name": "Alice", "details": {"age": 25, "city": "NYC"}}'));
mysql> SELECT json_pretty(data) FROM json_test;
-> {
"details": {
"age": 25,
"city": "NYC"
},
"name": "Alice"
}