Difference between json.dump() and json.dumps() Python (original) (raw)

Last Updated : 3 Jul, 2025

JSON is a lightweight data format for data interchange which can be easily read and written by humans, easily parsed and generated by machines. It is a complete language-independent text format. To work with JSON data, Python has a built-in package called json.

json.dumps()

**json.dumps() method can convert a Python object into a JSON string.

Syntax

json.dumps(dict, indent)

**Parameters:

• **dictionary: name of dictionary which should be converted to JSON object.
• **indent: defines the number of units for indentation

**Example:

Python `

import json

Data to be written

dictionary ={ "id": "04", "name": "sunil", "department": "HR" }

Serializing json

json_object = json.dumps(dictionary, indent = 4) print(json_object)

`

Output

{ "id": "04", "name": "sunil", "department": "HR" }

Python objects and their equivalent conversion to JSON:

json.dump()

**json.dump() method can be used for writing to JSON file.

Syntax

json.dump(dict, file_pointer)

**Parameters:

• **dictionary: name of dictionary which should be converted to JSON object.
• **file pointer: pointer of the file opened in write or append mode.

**Example:

Python `

import json

Data to be written

dictionary ={ "name" : "sathiyajith", "rollno" : 56, "cgpa" : 8.6, "phonenumber" : "9976770500" }

with open("sample.json", "w") as outfile: json.dump(dictionary, outfile)

`

**Output:

**Note: For more information, refer to Working With JSON Data in Python

**Let us see the differences in a tabular form -: