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How To Read and Write JSON Files in PHP

How To Read and Write JSON Files in PHP

Published on July 3, 2025 by OBSCountdown Editorial

Read and Write JSON Files in PHP

Quickly learn how to read from and write to JSON files using native PHP functions.

πŸ“˜ Why Use JSON in PHP?

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a lightweight format used to store and exchange data. PHP offers built-in functions to read and write JSON, making it easy to create configuration files, mock APIs, or even store structured data for your applications.

✍️ Writing JSON to a File

Here’s how to create a JSON file from a PHP array:

<?php
$data = [
  "name" => "John Doe",
  "email" => "[email protected]",
  "age" => 30
];

$jsonData = json_encode($data, JSON_PRETTY_PRINT);
file_put_contents("data.json", $jsonData);
echo "JSON file created successfully.";
?>

This will generate a data.json file containing the formatted JSON content.

πŸ“– Reading JSON from a File

To read and parse a JSON file back into a PHP array:

<?php
$jsonContent = file_get_contents("data.json");
$dataArray = json_decode($jsonContent, true);

print_r($dataArray);
?>

Note the second argument in json_decode() set to true, which converts the data into an associative array.

βœ… Validating JSON Content

Always check that your JSON string was successfully decoded:

<?php
if (json_last_error() === JSON_ERROR_NONE) {
  echo "Valid JSON.";
} else {
  echo "JSON Error: " . json_last_error_msg();
}
?>

πŸ’‘ Common Use Cases

  • Store configuration files
  • Export/import data for APIs
  • Save user preferences locally
  • Create lightweight databases for small apps

πŸ› οΈ Tips for Working with JSON

  • Use JSON_PRETTY_PRINT for readable formatting
  • Always validate JSON after decoding
  • Escape special characters before encoding
  • Use file_exists() and is_readable() before reading files
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