PostgreSQL 18 reference · JSON Functions

PostgreSQL TO_JSONB() Function

Convert any SQL value, including a whole row, to jsonb. Rows become objects with column names as keys.

PostgreSQL 18 Since 9.5

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Syntax

to_jsonb(anyelement)

Parameter	Description
`anyelement`	Any value, row or array.

jsonb.

A row as JSON

SELECT to_jsonb(c) AS row_as_json
FROM categories AS c
WHERE category_id = 1;

Output

             row_as_json
-------------------------------------
 {"name": "Books", "category_id": 1}
(1 row)

Run this on your computer — see “Get Started” for setup.

Arrays and text

SELECT to_jsonb(ARRAY[1, 2]) AS arr, to_jsonb('he said "hi"'::text) AS str;

Output

  arr   |       str
--------+------------------
 [1, 2] | "he said \"hi\""
(1 row)

Run this on your computer — see “Get Started” for setup.

Version	Change
PostgreSQL 9.5	Added

JSONB_BUILD_OBJECT() · Build a JSON object from alternating keys and values. json_build_object() returns json instead of jsonb.
JSONB_AGG() · Aggregate a group's values or rows into a JSON array. json_agg() does the same but returns json.
SQL String Functions · tutorial