Change values in JSON file (writing files)
I have a settings.json file present in the Release folder of my application. What I want to do is change the value of it, not temporarily, permanently.. That means, deleting the old entry, writing a new one and saving it.
Here is the format of the JSON file
{
"Admins":["234567"],
"ApiKey":"Text",
"mainLog": "syslog.log",
"UseSeparateProcesses": "false",
"AutoStartAllBots": "true",
"Bots": [
{
"Username":"BOT USERNAME",
"Password":"BOT PASSWORD",
"DisplayName":"TestBot",
"Backpack":"",
"ChatResponse":"Hi there bro",
"logFile": "TestBot.log",
"BotControlClass": "Text",
"MaximumTradeTime":180,
"MaximumActionGap":30,
"DisplayNamePrefix":"[AutomatedBot] ",
"TradePollingInterval":800,
"LogLevel":"Success",
"AutoStart": "true"
}
]
}
Suppose I want to change the password value and instead of BOT PASSWORD I want it to be only password. How do I do that?
Here's a simple & cheap way to do it (assuming .NET 4.0 and up):
string json = File.ReadAllText("settings.json");
dynamic jsonObj = Newtonsoft.Json.JsonConvert.DeserializeObject(json);
jsonObj["Bots"][0]["Password"] = "new password";
string output = Newtonsoft.Json.JsonConvert.SerializeObject(jsonObj, Newtonsoft.Json.Formatting.Indented);
File.WriteAllText("settings.json", output);
The use of dynamic
lets you index right into json objects and arrays very simply. However, you do lose out on compile-time checking. For quick-and-dirty it's really nice but for production code you'd probably want the fully fleshed-out classes as per @gitesh.tyagi's solution.
Use the JObject
class in Newtonsoft.Json.Linq
to modify JSON values without knowing the JSON structure ahead of time:
using Newtonsoft.Json.Linq;
string jsonString = File.ReadAllText("myfile.json");
// Convert the JSON string to a JObject:
JObject jObject = Newtonsoft.Json.JsonConvert.DeserializeObject(jsonString) as JObject;
// Select a nested property using a single string:
JToken jToken = jObject.SelectToken("Bots[0].Password");
// Update the value of the property:
jToken.Replace("myNewPassword123");
// Convert the JObject back to a string:
string updatedJsonString = jObject.ToString();
File.WriteAllText("myfile.json", updatedJsonString);
Example:
// This is the JSON string from the question
string jsonString = "{\"Admins\":[\"234567\"],\"ApiKey\":\"Text\",\"mainLog\":\"syslog.log\",\"UseSeparateProcesses\":\"false\",\"AutoStartAllBots\":\"true\",\"Bots\":[{\"Username\":\"BOT USERNAME\",\"Password\":\"BOT PASSWORD\",\"DisplayName\":\"TestBot\",\"Backpack\":\"\",\"ChatResponse\":\"Hi there bro\",\"logFile\":\"TestBot.log\",\"BotControlClass\":\"Text\",\"MaximumTradeTime\":180,\"MaximumActionGap\":30,\"DisplayNamePrefix\":\"[AutomatedBot] \",\"TradePollingInterval\":800,\"LogLevel\":\"Success\",\"AutoStart\":\"true\"}]}";
JObject jObject = Newtonsoft.Json.JsonConvert.DeserializeObject(jsonString) as JObject;
// Update a string value:
JToken jToken = jObject.SelectToken("Bots[0].Password");
jToken.Replace("myNewPassword123");
// Update an integer value:
JToken jToken2 = jObject.SelectToken("Bots[0].TradePollingInterval");
jToken2.Replace(555);
// Update a boolean value:
JToken jToken3 = jObject.SelectToken("Bots[0].AutoStart");
jToken3.Replace(false);
// Get an indented/formatted string:
string updatedJsonString = jObject.ToString();
//Output:
//{
// "Admins": [
// "234567"
// ],
// "ApiKey": "Text",
// "mainLog": "syslog.log",
// "UseSeparateProcesses": "false",
// "AutoStartAllBots": "true",
// "Bots": [
// {
// "Username": "BOT USERNAME",
// "Password": "password",
// "DisplayName": "TestBot",
// "Backpack": "",
// "ChatResponse": "Hi there bro",
// "logFile": "TestBot.log",
// "BotControlClass": "Text",
// "MaximumTradeTime": 180,
// "MaximumActionGap": 30,
// "DisplayNamePrefix": "[AutomatedBot] ",
// "TradePollingInterval": 555,
// "LogLevel": "Success",
// "AutoStart": false
// }
// ]
//}
You must have classes to instantiate json values to :
public class Bot
{
public string Username { get; set; }
public string Password { get; set; }
public string DisplayName { get; set; }
public string Backpack { get; set; }
public string ChatResponse { get; set; }
public string logFile { get; set; }
public string BotControlClass { get; set; }
public int MaximumTradeTime { get; set; }
public int MaximumActionGap { get; set; }
public string DisplayNamePrefix { get; set; }
public int TradePollingInterval { get; set; }
public string LogLevel { get; set; }
public string AutoStart { get; set; }
}
public class RootObject
{
public List<string> Admins { get; set; }
public string ApiKey { get; set; }
public string mainLog { get; set; }
public string UseSeparateProcesses { get; set; }
public string AutoStartAllBots { get; set; }
public List<Bot> Bots { get; set; }
}
Answer to your Ques(Untested code) :
//Read file to string
string json = File.ReadAllText("PATH TO settings.json");
//Deserialize from file to object:
var rootObject = new RootObject();
JsonConvert.PopulateObject(json, rootObject);
//Change Value
rootObject.Bots[0].Password = "password";
// serialize JSON directly to a file again
using (StreamWriter file = File.CreateText(@"PATH TO settings.json"))
{
JsonSerializer serializer = new JsonSerializer();
serializer.Serialize(file, rootObject);
}