Reading and Writing JSON Files
Use json.load() and json.dump() with file objects for reading and writing JSON files.
Python
Beginner
3 min read
JSON File I/O
Example
import json
from pathlib import Path
# Write
with open("data.json", "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
json.dump({"users": [{"id": 1, "name": "Alice"}]}, f, indent=2)
# Read
with open("data.json", encoding="utf-8") as f:
data = json.load(f)
# Pathlib shortcut
data = json.loads(Path("data.json").read_text(encoding="utf-8")) Pro Tip
Always specify encoding="utf-8" when opening JSON files — default encoding varies by OS.