NameError: name 'json' is not defined in Python

NameError: name 'json' is not defined in Python #

The Python "NameError: name 'json' is not defined" occurs when we use the json module without importing it first. To solve the error, import the json module before using it - import json.

Here is an example of how the error occurs.

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# ⛔️ NameError: name 'json' is not defined
json_str = json.dumps({'name': 'Alice', 'age': 30})

To solve the error, we have to import the json module.

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# ✅ import json first
import json


json_str = json.dumps({'name': 'Alice', 'age': 29})

print(json_str)  # 👉️ '{"name": "Alice", "age": 29}'
print(type(json_str))  # 👉️ <class 'str'>

native_python_obj = json.loads(json_str)

print(native_python_obj)  # 👉️ {'name': 'Alice', 'age': 29}
print(type(native_python_obj))  # 👉️ <class 'dict'>

Even though the json module is in the Python standard library, we still have to import it before using it.

Also, make sure you haven't imported json in a nested scope, e.g. a function. Import the module at the top level to be able to use it throughout your code.

An alternative to importing the entire json module is to import only the functions and constants that your code uses.

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from json import dumps, loads


json_str = dumps({'name': 'Alice', 'age': 29})

print(json_str)  # 👉️ '{"name": "Alice", "age": 29}'
print(type(json_str))  # 👉️ <class 'str'>

native_python_obj = loads(json_str)

print(native_python_obj)  # 👉️ {'name': 'Alice', 'age': 29}
print(type(native_python_obj))  # 👉️ <class 'dict'>

The example shows how to import only the dumps and loads functions from the json module.

Instead of accessing the members on the module, e.g. json.loads, we now access them directly.

You should pick whichever approach makes your code easier to read.

Conversely, when we import specific functions, it is much easier to see which functions from the json module are being used.

However, you will most likely be using only 2 functions from the json module - json.dumps() and json.loads().

The json.dumps function is used to serialize a Python object to a JSON formatted string.

Conversely, you can use the json.loads function to deserialize a JSON string to a native Python object.

You can view all of the functions the json module provides by visiting the official docs.

Conclusion #

The Python "NameError: name 'json' is not defined" occurs when we use the json module without importing it first. To solve the error, import the json module before using it - import json.