JSON Field

Provides mechanisms for storing JSON data in Drupal fields with various field types, widgets, and formatters for editing and displaying JSON content.

json_field

5,048 sites

drupal.org

field api

field json data storage serialization Views API rest

Drupal 9 Drupal 10 Drupal 11

Install

Drupal 11, 10 v8.x-1.7

composer require 'drupal/json_field:8.x-1.7'

Drupal 9 v8.x-1.3

composer require 'drupal/json_field:8.x-1.3'

Overview

JSON Field is a comprehensive module that enables storage of JSON data within Drupal entity fields. It provides three distinct field types optimized for different database backends and use cases: a text-based storage option compatible with all databases, and two native JSON storage options that leverage database-specific JSON column types for MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, and SQLite.

The module includes validation to ensure only valid JSON can be saved, multiple display formatters for viewing JSON data, and optional enhanced editing capabilities through the JSON Editor WYSIWYG widget. It integrates seamlessly with Views for displaying JSON data in listings, supports the Feeds module for importing JSON content, and works with the Diff module for comparing JSON field revisions.

For JSON:API integration, the module can be configured with JSON:API Extras to output raw JSON instead of escaped strings, making it ideal for headless Drupal implementations and API-first architectures.

Features

Three JSON field types with different storage backends: text-based (VARCHAR/TEXT), native JSON, and JSONB/JSON for database-optimized storage
Automatic JSON validation to ensure only valid JSON data can be saved to fields
Plain textarea widget for basic JSON editing with optional JSON Editor WYSIWYG widget for enhanced editing experience
Multiple display formatters including plain text with optional JSONView library and human-readable Pretty formatter
Views integration with special JSON data field handler for REST exports
Support for JSON Schema validation when using the JSON Editor widget submodule
Integration with Feeds module for importing JSON data from external sources
Integration with Diff module for comparing JSON field revisions between entity versions
Custom serialization normalizer for proper JSON output in REST and JSON:API contexts
Configurable field storage size options (255 characters to 1GB) for text-based storage

Use Cases

Storing API Response Data

Store complete API responses from external services in JSON fields for caching, auditing, or further processing. The native JSON field types enable database-level querying of the stored data on supported databases.

Flexible Content Attributes

Add dynamic, schema-free attributes to content types without creating additional fields. Store product specifications, event metadata, or user preferences as JSON objects that can vary between entities.

Configuration Storage for Custom Functionality

Store complex configuration data for custom modules or integrations. Use JSON Schema validation in the editor widget to ensure configuration adheres to expected structure.

Headless Drupal API Data

Provide structured JSON data through Drupal's REST or JSON:API endpoints for decoupled frontend applications. The custom normalizer and JSON:API Extras integration ensure proper JSON output.

Data Migration Staging

Temporarily store complex data during migrations before processing into final Drupal structures. The JSON fields can hold nested data that would require multiple related entities in the final schema.

Form Builder Data Storage

Store form definitions, survey questions, or quiz data as JSON. The tree and form editor modes make it easy for content editors to manage nested data structures without writing raw JSON.

Tips

Use JSON (text) field type for maximum database compatibility; use native JSON types only when you need database-level JSON querying
Configure the 'Maximum space allowed' setting appropriately to avoid using more database resources than necessary
The Pretty formatter requires no external libraries and is ideal for simple JSON display needs
Enable JSON Schema validation in the editor widget to enforce data structure requirements for complex use cases
MariaDB stores JSON in LONGTEXT columns but still supports JSON query operations against the data
When using with Views REST exports, select the field with '(data)' suffix to output raw JSON instead of strings

Dependencies

Field Core Required

Text Core Required

Serialization Core Required

Related Projects

Views Core

Provides Views integration with a special JSON data field handler. JSON fields appear in Views with an additional '(data)' option that properly outputs raw JSON in REST export displays instead of escaped strings.

Feeds

Provides a Feeds target for importing JSON data into JSON fields. All three field types are supported as import destinations.

Diff

Integrates with the Diff module to compare JSON field values between entity revisions. JSON is pretty-printed before comparison to make differences more visible.

JSON:API Extras

Works with JSON:API Extras to output raw JSON data instead of escaped strings in JSON:API responses. Configure the JSON Field enhancer for each resource type's JSON field to enable raw JSON output.

REST Core

Custom normalizer ensures JSON field data is properly serialized as raw JSON objects in REST responses rather than escaped string values.

Technical Details

JSON fields show escaped strings in JSON:API responses

Install JSON:API Extras module, override the resource type at admin/config/services/jsonapi/resource_types, and select 'JSON Field' as the enhancer for the JSON field.

JSONView library not displaying formatted output

Ensure the jquery-jsonview library is installed at /libraries/jquery-jsonview/dist/ with both jquery.jsonview.js and jquery.jsonview.css files present.

JSON Editor widget not appearing

Enable the JSON Field Widget submodule, install the jsoneditor library at /libraries/jsoneditor/dist/, and change the field widget to 'JSON-specific WYSIWYG editor' in the form display settings.

Database compatibility warnings in status report

Verify your database version meets the minimum requirements: MySQL 5.7.8+, MariaDB 10.2.7+, PostgreSQL 9.2+, or SQLite 3.26+. For native JSON field types, the database must support JSON columns.

Validation error when saving empty optional JSON field

This was fixed in version 8.x-1.6. Update to the latest version to resolve schema validation issues with empty non-required fields.

Core database export issues with JSON columns

Drupal core's database export script doesn't fully support JSON field types. Track progress on core issues #3343634 (META), #3143512 (MySQL/MariaDB), #2472709 (PostgreSQL), and #3325871 (SQLite).

JSON data is validated before saving to ensure only valid JSON can be stored
The module uses Drupal's serialization service for JSON encoding/decoding, following security best practices
JSON Schema validation (when enabled) provides an additional layer of data integrity verification
Field-level permissions are controlled through standard Drupal field access mechanisms