JSON_ARRAY()

Signature

JSON_ARRAY ( [ <json_array_value> [ , ...n ] ] [ <json_null_clause> ] [ RETURNING json ] )

<json_array_value> ::= value_expression

<json_null_clause> ::=
      NULL ON NULL
    | ABSENT ON NULL

Parameters

• json_array_value — An expression that defines the value of the element in the JSON array.
• json_null_clause — Can be used to control the behavior of `JSON_OBJECT` function when `value_expression` is `NULL`. The option `NULL ON NULL` converts the SQL `NULL` value into a JSON `NULL` value when generating the value of the element in the JSON array. The option `ABSENT ON NULL` will omit the element in the JSON array if the value is `NULL`. The default setting for this option is `ABSENT ON NULL`.

Examples

SELECT JSON_ARRAY();

[]

SELECT JSON_ARRAY('a', 1, 'b', 2);

["a",1,"b",2]

SELECT JSON_ARRAY('a', 1, 'b', NULL);

["a",1,"b"]

Run against SQL Server 16.0.4265.3 on 2026-09-13. This is the output we got, not the documentation’s.

Available on

• SQL Server 2022 and later
• Azure SQL Database
• Azure SQL Managed Instance
• Microsoft Fabric warehouse