Reading JSON with read_json in Pandas

Introduction

We use read_json to easily load data stored in JSON format into a table-like structure called a DataFrame. This helps us analyze and work with the data in Python.

When you have data saved as JSON files from web APIs or applications.

When you want to convert JSON data into a table to explore or clean it.

When you receive data in JSON format and need to perform calculations or summaries.

When you want to quickly load JSON data for visualization or reporting.

Syntax

Pandas

pandas.read_json(path_or_buf, orient=None, typ='frame', dtype=True, convert_axes=None, convert_dates=True, keep_default_dates=True, numpy=False, precise_float=False, date_unit=None, encoding=None, lines=False, chunksize=None, compression='infer')

path_or_buf is the file path, URL, or JSON string to read from.

orient tells pandas how the JSON data is organized (like 'records' or 'columns').

Examples

Reads a JSON file named data.json into a DataFrame.

Pandas

import pandas as pd

df = pd.read_json('data.json')

Reads JSON data from a string directly into a DataFrame.

Pandas

json_str = '[{"name": "Alice", "age": 30}, {"name": "Bob", "age": 25}]'
df = pd.read_json(json_str)

Specifies that the JSON data is a list of records (rows).

Pandas

df = pd.read_json('data.json', orient='records')

Reads a JSON file where each line is a separate JSON object (common in logs).

Pandas

df = pd.read_json('data.json', lines=True)

Sample Program

This code reads JSON data from a string containing weather info for cities and prints it as a table.

Pandas

import pandas as pd

json_data = '''[
  {"city": "New York", "temperature": 21},
  {"city": "Los Angeles", "temperature": 26},
  {"city": "Chicago", "temperature": 18}
]'''

df = pd.read_json(json_data)
print(df)

Important Notes

If your JSON file has one JSON object per line, use lines=True to read it correctly.

You can read JSON from a URL by passing the URL string to read_json.

Make sure the JSON structure matches the orient parameter to avoid errors.

Summary

read_json loads JSON data into a pandas DataFrame for easy analysis.

You can read JSON from files, strings, or URLs.

Use parameters like orient and lines to match your JSON format.