---
alias: []
description: 'Documentation for the JSONStrings format'
input_format: true
keywords: ['JSONStrings']
output_format: true
slug: /interfaces/formats/JSONStrings
title: 'JSONStrings'
---

| Input | Output | Alias |
|-------|--------|-------|
| ✔     | ✔      |       |

## Description {#description}

Differs from the [JSON](./JSON.md) format only in that data fields are output as strings, not as typed JSON values.

## Example usage {#example-usage}

### Inserting data {#inserting-data}

Using a JSON file with the following data, named as `football.json`:

```json
{
    "meta":
    [
            {
                    "name": "date",
                    "type": "Date"
            },
            {
                    "name": "season",
                    "type": "Int16"
            },
            {
                    "name": "home_team",
                    "type": "LowCardinality(String)"
            },
            {
                    "name": "away_team",
                    "type": "LowCardinality(String)"
            },
            {
                    "name": "home_team_goals",
                    "type": "Int8"
            },
            {
                    "name": "away_team_goals",
                    "type": "Int8"
            }
    ],
    "data":
    [
            {
                    "date": "2022-04-30",
                    "season": "2021",
                    "home_team": "Sutton United",
                    "away_team": "Bradford City",
                    "home_team_goals": "1",
                    "away_team_goals": "4"
            },
            {
                    "date": "2022-04-30",
                    "season": "2021",
                    "home_team": "Swindon Town",
                    "away_team": "Barrow",
                    "home_team_goals": "2",
                    "away_team_goals": "1"
            },
            {
                    "date": "2022-04-30",
                    "season": "2021",
                    "home_team": "Tranmere Rovers",
                    "away_team": "Oldham Athletic",
                    "home_team_goals": "2",
                    "away_team_goals": "0"
            },
            {
                    "date": "2022-05-02",
                    "season": "2021",
                    "home_team": "Port Vale",
                    "away_team": "Newport County",
                    "home_team_goals": "1",
                    "away_team_goals": "2"
            },
            {
                    "date": "2022-05-02",
                    "season": "2021",
                    "home_team": "Salford City",
                    "away_team": "Mansfield Town",
                    "home_team_goals": "2",
                    "away_team_goals": "2"
            },
            {
                    "date": "2022-05-07",
                    "season": "2021",
                    "home_team": "Barrow",
                    "away_team": "Northampton Town",
                    "home_team_goals": "1",
                    "away_team_goals": "3"
            },
            {
                    "date": "2022-05-07",
                    "season": "2021",
                    "home_team": "Bradford City",
                    "away_team": "Carlisle United",
                    "home_team_goals": "2",
                    "away_team_goals": "0"
            },
            {
                    "date": "2022-05-07",
                    "season": "2021",
                    "home_team": "Bristol Rovers",
                    "away_team": "Scunthorpe United",
                    "home_team_goals": "7",
                    "away_team_goals": "0"
            },
            {
                    "date": "2022-05-07",
                    "season": "2021",
                    "home_team": "Exeter City",
                    "away_team": "Port Vale",
                    "home_team_goals": "0",
                    "away_team_goals": "1"
            },
            {
                    "date": "2022-05-07",
                    "season": "2021",
                    "home_team": "Harrogate Town A.F.C.",
                    "away_team": "Sutton United",
                    "home_team_goals": "0",
                    "away_team_goals": "2"
            },
            {
                    "date": "2022-05-07",
                    "season": "2021",
                    "home_team": "Hartlepool United",
                    "away_team": "Colchester United",
                    "home_team_goals": "0",
                    "away_team_goals": "2"
            },
            {
                    "date": "2022-05-07",
                    "season": "2021",
                    "home_team": "Leyton Orient",
                    "away_team": "Tranmere Rovers",
                    "home_team_goals": "0",
                    "away_team_goals": "1"
            },
            {
                    "date": "2022-05-07",
                    "season": "2021",
                    "home_team": "Mansfield Town",
                    "away_team": "Forest Green Rovers",
                    "home_team_goals": "2",
                    "away_team_goals": "2"
            },
            {
                    "date": "2022-05-07",
                    "season": "2021",
                    "home_team": "Newport County",
                    "away_team": "Rochdale",
                    "home_team_goals": "0",
                    "away_team_goals": "2"
            },
            {
                    "date": "2022-05-07",
                    "season": "2021",
                    "home_team": "Oldham Athletic",
                    "away_team": "Crawley Town",
                    "home_team_goals": "3",
                    "away_team_goals": "3"
            },
            {
                    "date": "2022-05-07",
                    "season": "2021",
                    "home_team": "Stevenage Borough",
                    "away_team": "Salford City",
                    "home_team_goals": "4",
                    "away_team_goals": "2"
            },
            {
                    "date": "2022-05-07",
                    "season": "2021",
                    "home_team": "Walsall",
                    "away_team": "Swindon Town",
                    "home_team_goals": "0",
                    "away_team_goals": "3"
            }
    ]
}
```

Insert the data:

```sql
INSERT INTO football FROM INFILE 'football.json' FORMAT JSONStrings;
```

### Reading data {#reading-data}

Read data using the `JSONStrings` format:

```sql
SELECT *
FROM football
FORMAT JSONStrings
```

The output will be in JSON format:

```json
{
    "meta":
    [
            {
                    "name": "date",
                    "type": "Date"
            },
            {
                    "name": "season",
                    "type": "Int16"
            },
            {
                    "name": "home_team",
                    "type": "LowCardinality(String)"
            },
            {
                    "name": "away_team",
                    "type": "LowCardinality(String)"
            },
            {
                    "name": "home_team_goals",
                    "type": "Int8"
            },
            {
                    "name": "away_team_goals",
                    "type": "Int8"
            }
    ],

    "data":
    [
            {
                    "date": "2022-04-30",
                    "season": "2021",
                    "home_team": "Sutton United",
                    "away_team": "Bradford City",
                    "home_team_goals": "1",
                    "away_team_goals": "4"
            },
            {
                    "date": "2022-04-30",
                    "season": "2021",
                    "home_team": "Swindon Town",
                    "away_team": "Barrow",
                    "home_team_goals": "2",
                    "away_team_goals": "1"
            },
            {
                    "date": "2022-04-30",
                    "season": "2021",
                    "home_team": "Tranmere Rovers",
                    "away_team": "Oldham Athletic",
                    "home_team_goals": "2",
                    "away_team_goals": "0"
            },
            {
                    "date": "2022-05-02",
                    "season": "2021",
                    "home_team": "Port Vale",
                    "away_team": "Newport County",
                    "home_team_goals": "1",
                    "away_team_goals": "2"
            },
            {
                    "date": "2022-05-02",
                    "season": "2021",
                    "home_team": "Salford City",
                    "away_team": "Mansfield Town",
                    "home_team_goals": "2",
                    "away_team_goals": "2"
            },
            {
                    "date": "2022-05-07",
                    "season": "2021",
                    "home_team": "Barrow",
                    "away_team": "Northampton Town",
                    "home_team_goals": "1",
                    "away_team_goals": "3"
            },
            {
                    "date": "2022-05-07",
                    "season": "2021",
                    "home_team": "Bradford City",
                    "away_team": "Carlisle United",
                    "home_team_goals": "2",
                    "away_team_goals": "0"
            },
            {
                    "date": "2022-05-07",
                    "season": "2021",
                    "home_team": "Bristol Rovers",
                    "away_team": "Scunthorpe United",
                    "home_team_goals": "7",
                    "away_team_goals": "0"
            },
            {
                    "date": "2022-05-07",
                    "season": "2021",
                    "home_team": "Exeter City",
                    "away_team": "Port Vale",
                    "home_team_goals": "0",
                    "away_team_goals": "1"
            },
            {
                    "date": "2022-05-07",
                    "season": "2021",
                    "home_team": "Harrogate Town A.F.C.",
                    "away_team": "Sutton United",
                    "home_team_goals": "0",
                    "away_team_goals": "2"
            },
            {
                    "date": "2022-05-07",
                    "season": "2021",
                    "home_team": "Hartlepool United",
                    "away_team": "Colchester United",
                    "home_team_goals": "0",
                    "away_team_goals": "2"
            },
            {
                    "date": "2022-05-07",
                    "season": "2021",
                    "home_team": "Leyton Orient",
                    "away_team": "Tranmere Rovers",
                    "home_team_goals": "0",
                    "away_team_goals": "1"
            },
            {
                    "date": "2022-05-07",
                    "season": "2021",
                    "home_team": "Mansfield Town",
                    "away_team": "Forest Green Rovers",
                    "home_team_goals": "2",
                    "away_team_goals": "2"
            },
            {
                    "date": "2022-05-07",
                    "season": "2021",
                    "home_team": "Newport County",
                    "away_team": "Rochdale",
                    "home_team_goals": "0",
                    "away_team_goals": "2"
            },
            {
                    "date": "2022-05-07",
                    "season": "2021",
                    "home_team": "Oldham Athletic",
                    "away_team": "Crawley Town",
                    "home_team_goals": "3",
                    "away_team_goals": "3"
            },
            {
                    "date": "2022-05-07",
                    "season": "2021",
                    "home_team": "Stevenage Borough",
                    "away_team": "Salford City",
                    "home_team_goals": "4",
                    "away_team_goals": "2"
            },
            {
                    "date": "2022-05-07",
                    "season": "2021",
                    "home_team": "Walsall",
                    "away_team": "Swindon Town",
                    "home_team_goals": "0",
                    "away_team_goals": "3"
            }
    ],

    "rows": 17,

    "statistics":
    {
            "elapsed": 0.173464376,
            "rows_read": 0,
            "bytes_read": 0
    }
}
```

## Format settings {#format-settings}
