How to Write JSON to File in PowerShell?

In this PowerShell tutorial, I will explain how to write JSON to a file in PowerShell.

To write JSON to a file in PowerShell, you can use the ConvertTo-Json cmdlet to convert a PowerShell object into a JSON string, and then output this string to a file using Out-File or Set-Content. For example:

$object | ConvertTo-Json | Set-Content -Path 'file.json'

This approach is simple and effective for most scenarios where you need to save JSON data from PowerShell to a file.

Table of Contents

Method 1: ConvertTo-Json and Out-File

To write JSON to a file in PowerShell, you can use the ConvertTo-Json cmdlet, which converts a PowerShell object into a JSON-formatted string. Once converted, you can then output the string to a file using the Out-File cmdlet.

Here’s a simple example:

# Create a PowerShell object
$person = @{
    FirstName = 'James'
    LastName = 'Karley'
    Age = 30
}

# Convert the object to a JSON string
$json = $person | ConvertTo-Json

# Write the JSON string to a file
$json | Out-File -FilePath 'C:\MyFolder\person.json'

This script creates a hashtable representing a person, converts it to JSON, and writes it to a file named person.json.

You can see the output in the screenshot below after I executed the script using VS code.

Check out How to Convert JSON to CSV in PowerShell?

Method 2: ConvertTo-Json and Set-Content

An alternative to Out-File is the Set-Content cmdlet in PowerShell. It’s particularly useful when you need to ensure the file encoding is set correctly, such as UTF-8, which is often required for JSON data.

# Convert the object to a JSON string
$json = $person | ConvertTo-Json

# Write the JSON string to a file with UTF8 encoding
$json | Set-Content -Path 'person.json' -Encoding UTF8

This approach is similar to the previous one but specifies the encoding to prevent any issues with character representation in the JSON file.

Method 3: Using Add-Content for Appending Data

If you need to append JSON data to an existing file in PowerShell, you can use the Add-Content cmdlet. This is particularly useful when logging or adding to a JSON array in a file.

# Additional person object
$additionalPerson = @{
    FirstName = 'Jane'
    LastName = 'Smith'
    Age = 25
}

# Convert the additional person to JSON
$additionalJson = $additionalPerson | ConvertTo-Json

# Append the JSON string to the existing file
$additionalJson | Add-Content -Path 'C:\MyFolder\person.json'

This script will add the additionalJson content to the people.json file without overwriting the existing data.

You can see the output in the screenshot below after I executed the PowerShell script using VS code.

Method 4: Export-Clixml for Complex Objects

For more complex objects that might contain properties that ConvertTo-Json cannot process, you can use Export-Clixml. This cmdlet exports PowerShell objects to an XML file, which can be read back with Import-Clixml.

# Export the object to an XML file
$person | Export-Clixml -Path 'person.clixml'

While not strictly JSON, this method is included for completeness as it can handle complex serialized data that JSON might not.

Method 5: Using JSON.net Library

For full control over the JSON serialization process, you can use the Newtonsoft JSON.net library. This library offers more features than the built-in PowerShell cmdlets.

First, you need to install the library:

# Install the Newtonsoft.Json library
Install-Package -Name Newtonsoft.Json

Then, you can use it to serialize and write the JSON data:

# Load the Newtonsoft.Json assembly
Add-Type -Path 'C:\path\to\Newtonsoft.Json.dll'

# Serialize the object to JSON using JsonConvert
$json = [Newtonsoft.Json.JsonConvert]::SerializeObject($person)

# Write the JSON string to a file
Set-Content -Path 'person.json' -Value $json -Encoding UTF8

This method is particularly useful when dealing with complex JSON structures or when you need to customize the serialization process beyond what the ConvertTo-Json cmdlet offers.

Conclusion

PowerShell offers several ways to write JSON data to a file. By utilizing the ConvertTo-Json cmdlet with Out-File or Set-Content, you can easily serialize and save JSON data. For appending data, Add-Content is your go-to cmdlet. And for the most complex scenarios, leveraging the JSON.net library gives you the flexibility and power to manage JSON serialization in PowerShell with precision.

In this PowerShell tutorial, I have explained how to write JSON to a file in PowerShell using different methods.