How to Convert Python JSON to CSV using Python Libraries

There are a number of packages that convert Python JSON to CSV. Two popular file formats for transferring and storing data are JSON and CSV. While CSV is a plain-text format that represents tabular data with comma-separated values and is frequently used for data storage in spreadsheets and databases, JSON is a lightweight, human-readable format that is used for sending data between servers and web applications.

Python has a number of packages that make the JSON to CSV conversion process easier. With just a few lines of code, you may finish the conversion operation by utilizing these libraries.

How to Convert JSON to CSV in Python

To convert Python JSON to CSV in Python, you can follow these general steps:

1. Read the JSON Data: Read the JSON data using Python’s json module or by loading it from a JSON file. This step is necessary to parse the JSON data and work with it in Python.
2. Convert to a DataFrame (Optional): You can convert the JSON data to a Pandas DataFrame if you want to perform data manipulation and analysis. Converting to a DataFrame is optional but can be useful.
3. Write to CSV: Use the Pandas library to write the data (either the DataFrame or the parsed JSON data) to a CSV file.

Here’s a step-by-step example of how to convert JSON to CSV:

import json
import pandas as pd

# Step 1: Read the JSON data (from a JSON file or a JSON string)
# Example 1: Reading from a JSON file
with open(‘data.json’, ‘r’) as json_file:
json_data = json.load(json_file)

# Example 2: Reading from a JSON string (replace this with your JSON data)
json_data = ”’
[
{“name”: “John”, “age”: 30, “city”: “New York”},
{“name”: “Alice”, “age”: 25, “city”: “Los Angeles”}
]
”’

# Parse the JSON data
data = json.loads(json_data)

# Step 2 (Optional): Convert to a Pandas DataFrame
df = pd.DataFrame(data)

# Step 3: Write the DataFrame or JSON data to a CSV file
# If using a DataFrame:
df.to_csv(‘output.csv’, index=False)

# If using the parsed JSON data (without a DataFrame):
with open(‘output.csv’, ‘w’) as csv_file:
csv_file.write(‘name,age,city\n’) # Write header row
for item in data:
csv_file.write(f'{item[“name”]},{item[“age”]},{item[“city”]}\n’)

print(“JSON data has been converted to CSV.”)

3. Read JSON data:

You need to read your JSON data into a Pandas DataFrame. You can use the pd.read_json() function for this. You can pass the JSON data as a file or as a JSON string.

If your JSON data is in a file:

df = pd.read_json(‘your_data.json’)

If you have JSON data as a string:

4. Write the DataFrame to a CSV file:

Now that you have your JSON data in a DataFrame, you can use the Python JSONto_csv() function to write it to a CSV file.

df.to_csv(‘output.csv’, index=False)

The index=False argument prevents writing the DataFrame index to the CSV file.

Here’s the complete code for converting JSON to CSV:

import pandas as pd

# Read JSON data (choose one of the methods)
# If data is in a file:
# df = pd.read_json(‘your_data.json’)

# If data is a JSON string:
json_data = ”’
[
{“name”: “John”, “age”: 30, “city”: “New York”},
{“name”: “Alice”, “age”: 25, “city”: “Los Angeles”}
]
”’
data = json.loads(json_data)
df = pd.DataFrame(data)

# Write DataFrame to a CSV file
df.to_csv(‘output.csv’, index=False)

Reading the JSON data is the next step after importing the libraries. A pandas DataFrame can be created from a JSON string or file using the pd.read_json() function.

You can read JSON data into a Pandas DataFrame using the pandas.read_json() function. Here’s how to do it:

1. Import the necessary libraries:

First, make sure you’ve imported the pandas library.

a. Read JSON data from a file:

If your JSON data is in a file, you can use pd.read_json() like this:

b. Read JSON data from a JSON string:

If you have JSON data as a string, you can use pd.read_json() with a JSON string as follows:

You may need to specify the orient parameter based on the structure of your JSON data. The example above assumes that the JSON data is in a dictionary format.

Here’s the complete code for reading JSON data into a Pandas DataFrame:

How to Write to CSV With Pandas

You can write data to a CSV file using Pandas by using the to_csv() method provided by Pandas DataFrames. Here’s how to  convert Python JSON to CSV pandas, you can follow these steps:

1.  Import the necessary libraries:

First, make sure you’ve imported the pandas library.

2. Create or obtain a Pandas DataFrame:

You’ll need a Pandas DataFrame that contains the data you want to write to a CSV file. If you don’t have a DataFrame, you can create one by reading data from various sources, such as JSON, and SQL databases, or by manually constructing it from Python lists or dictionaries.

Here’s an example of creating a simple DataFrame:

data = {
‘Name’: [‘John’, ‘Alice’, ‘Bob’],
‘Age’: [30, 25, 35],
‘City’: [‘New York’, ‘Los Angeles’, ‘Chicago’]
}

df = pd.DataFrame(data)

Write the DataFrame to a CSV file:

Once you have your DataFrame ready, you can use the to_csv() method to write it to a CSV file.

1. The to_csv() function takes the filename as its first argument and setting index=False prevents writing the DataFrame index as a column in the CSV file.

Here’s the complete code for writing a Pandas DataFrame to a CSV file:

import pandas as pd

# Create or obtain a Pandas DataFrame
data = {
‘Name’: [‘John’, ‘Alice’, ‘Bob’],
‘Age’: [30, 25, 35],
‘City’: [‘New York’, ‘Los Angeles’, ‘Chicago’]
}
df = pd.DataFrame(data)

# Write the DataFrame to a CSV file
df.to_csv(‘output.csv’, index=False)

Data can be sent and stored using the JSON syntax. Text created in JavaScript object notation is called JSON. Working with JSON data in Python is possible thanks to the JSON package, which is part of the language.