json_serialize()

Converts an SQL/JSON expression into a character or binary string. The expression can be of any JSON type, any character string type, or bytea in UTF8 encoding. The returned type used in RETURNING can be any character string type or bytea. The default is text.

Signature

json_serialize ( expression [ FORMAT JSON [ ENCODING UTF8 ] ] [ RETURNING data_type [ FORMAT JSON [ ENCODING UTF8 ] ] ] )

Examples

SELECT json_serialize('{ "a" : 1 } ' RETURNING bytea);

\x7b20226122203a2031207d20

Run against PostgreSQL 18.6 on 2026-09-13. This is the output we got, not the documentation’s.

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