How to Update Json File with Python

How to Update Json File with Python

I'm trying to update existing Json file, but from some reason, the requested value is not being changed but the entire set of values (with the new value) is being appended to the original file

jsonFile = open("replayScript.json", "r+")
data = json.load(jsonFile)


tmp = data["location"]
data["location"] = "NewPath"

jsonFile.write(json.dumps(data))

and the result is : Required:

{
   "location": "NewPath",
   "Id": "0",
   "resultDir": "",
   "resultFile": "",
   "mode": "replay",
   "className":  "",
   "method":  "METHOD"
}

Actual:

{
"location": "/home/karim/storm/project/storm/devqa/default.xml",
"Id": "0",
"resultDir": "",
"resultFile": "",
"mode": "replay",
"className":  "",
"method":  "METHOD"
}
{
    "resultDir": "",
    "location": "pathaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",
    "method": "METHOD",
    "className": "",
    "mode": "replay",
    "Id": "0",
    "resultFile": ""
}

2 Answers

The issue here is that you've opened a file and read its contents so the cursor is at the end of the file. By writing to the same file handle, you're essentially appending to the file.

The easiest solution would be to close the file after you've read it in, then reopen it for writing.

with open("replayScript.json", "r") as jsonFile:
    data = json.load(jsonFile)

data["location"] = "NewPath"

with open("replayScript.json", "w") as jsonFile:
    json.dump(data, jsonFile)

Alternatively, you can use seek() to move the cursor back to the beginning of the file then start writing, followed by a truncate() to deal with the case where the new data is smaller than the previous.

with open("replayScript.json", "r+") as jsonFile:
    data = json.load(jsonFile)

    data["location"] = "NewPath"

    jsonFile.seek(0)  # rewind
    json.dump(data, jsonFile)
    jsonFile.truncate()
6
def updateJsonFile():
    jsonFile = open("replayScript.json", "r") # Open the JSON file for reading
    data = json.load(jsonFile) # Read the JSON into the buffer
    jsonFile.close() # Close the JSON file

    ## Working with buffered content
    tmp = data["location"] 
    data["location"] = path
    data["mode"] = "replay"

    ## Save our changes to JSON file
    jsonFile = open("replayScript.json", "w+")
    jsonFile.write(json.dumps(data))
    jsonFile.close()
2

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Marcus Vance
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Marcus Vance

Marcus Vance is a cybersecurity auditor and technology writer dedicated to educating the public about online safety, data privacy regulations, enterprise security, and emerging cyber threats.