json.mdx

title	Upload JSON files to MindsDB
sidebarTitle	JSON

You can upload JSON files of any size to MindsDB that runs locally via Docker or pip.

JSON files are converted into a table, if the JSON file structure allows for it. Otherwise, JSON files are stored similarly to text files.

Here is the sample format of a JSON file that can be uploaded to MindsDB:

[
    {
        "id": 1,
        "name": "Alice",
        "contact": {
            "email": "alice@example.com",
            "phone": "123-456-7890"
        },
        "address": {
            "street": "123 Maple Street",
            "city": "Wonderland",
            "zip": "12345"
        }
    },
    {
        "id": 2,
        "name": "Bob",
        "contact": {
            "email": "bob@example.com",
            "phone": "987-654-3210"
        },
        "address": {
            "street": "456 Oak Avenue",
            "city": "Builderland",
            "zip": "67890"
        }
    }
]

MindsDB converts it into a table where each row stores the high-level object.

| id  | name  | contact                                              | address                                                         |
| --- | ----- | ---------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| 1   | Alice | {"email":"alice@example.com","phone":"123-456-7890"} | {"city":"Wonderland","street":"123 Maple Street","zip":"12345"} |
| 2   | Bob   | {"email":"bob@example.com","phone":"987-654-3210"}   | {"city":"Builderland","street":"456 Oak Avenue","zip":"67890"}  |

You can extract the JSON fields from contact and address columns with the json_extract function.

SELECT id, 
       name, 
       json_extract(contact, '$.email') AS email, 
       json_extract(address, '$.city') AS city
FROM files.json_file_name;

Upload files

Follow the steps below to upload a file:

1. Click on the Add dropdown and choose Upload file.

2. Upload a file and provide a name used to access it within MindsDB.

3. Alternatively, upload a file as a link and provide a name used to access it within MindsDB.

Query files

Here is how to query data within MindsDB.

Query for the content of the file uploaded under the name my_file.

SELECT *
FROM files.my_file;