SQL - JSON_EXTRACT() in SQL

JSON_EXTRACT() is a built-in SQL function used to retrieve specific values from a JSON column in a table.

Syntax

JSON_EXTRACT(json_column, '$.key')

• json_column – the column containing JSON data
• $.key – path to the key you want to extract
• $ refers to the root of JSON
• Use . for nested keys
• Use [*] for arrays

Example Table

CREATE TABLE users (

  id INT,

  profile JSON

);

INSERT INTO users VALUES

(1, '{"name": "Arun Kumar", "age": 28, "skills": ["SQL", "CSS"]}');

Extract Single Value

SELECT JSON_EXTRACT(profile, '$.name') AS name

FROM users;

Result:

name

-----

"Arun Kumar"

Extract Nested Value

SELECT JSON_EXTRACT(profile, '$.skills[0]') AS first_skill

FROM users;

Result:

first_skill

------------

"SQL"

Key Points

• Returns value in JSON format (quotes included)
• Works with nested objects and arrays
• Can be combined with WHERE to filter data