JSONPath · lesson 3 of 13 · Basics

Results are lists

JSONPath always returns a list of matches: zero, one or many. A path that matches nothing is not an error — it is an empty list.

Example 1Many matches

Document

{
  "store": {
    "book": [
      { "title": "Sayings of the Century", "author": "Nigel Rees",
        "category": "reference", "price": 8.95 },
      { "title": "Sword of Honour", "author": "Evelyn Waugh",
        "category": "fiction", "price": 12.99 },
      { "title": "Moby Dick", "author": "Herman Melville",
        "category": "fiction", "price": 8.99, "isbn": "0-553-21311-3" },
      { "title": "The Lord of the Rings", "author": "J. R. R. Tolkien",
        "category": "fiction", "price": 22.99, "isbn": "0-395-19395-8" }
    ],
    "bicycle": { "color": "red", "price": 19.95 }
  }
}

Query

$.store.book[*].title

[*] Every element of the array, so there is one match per book — four results.

Result

"Sayings of the Century"
"Sword of Honour"
"Moby Dick"
"The Lord of the Rings"

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Example 2No match

Document

{
  "store": {
    "book": [
      { "title": "Sayings of the Century", "author": "Nigel Rees",
        "category": "reference", "price": 8.95 },
      { "title": "Sword of Honour", "author": "Evelyn Waugh",
        "category": "fiction", "price": 12.99 },
      { "title": "Moby Dick", "author": "Herman Melville",
        "category": "fiction", "price": 8.99, "isbn": "0-553-21311-3" },
      { "title": "The Lord of the Rings", "author": "J. R. R. Tolkien",
        "category": "fiction", "price": 22.99, "isbn": "0-395-19395-8" }
    ],
    "bicycle": { "color": "red", "price": 19.95 }
  }
}

Query

$.store.book[9].title

[9] There is no book at index 9, so nothing matches — zero results, and no error.

Result

No results.

Try it in the playground

Good to know

JSON Pointer, by contrast, reports an error when a location doesn't exist.