Escape double quotes for JSON in Python

Question

How can I replace double quotes with a backslash and double quotes in Python?

>>> s = 'my string with "double quotes" blablabla'
>>> s.replace('"', '\\"')
'my string with \\"double quotes\\" blablabla'
>>> s.replace('"', '\\\"')
'my string with \\"double quotes\\" blablabla'

I would like to get the following:

'my string with \"double quotes\" blablabla'

score 134 · Answer 1 · edited Sep 14 '16 at 18:36

134

You should be using the json module. json.dumps(string). It can also serialize other python data types.

import json

>>> s = 'my string with "double quotes" blablabla'

>>> json.dumps(s)
<<< '"my string with \\"double quotes\\" blablabla"'

edited Sep 14 '16 at 18:36

Seldom 'Where's Monica' Needy

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answered May 13 '11 at 19:56

Zach Kelling

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2

Why does json.dumps() add in all of the extra quotes? Why does it add an extra backslash i.e., \\", instead of just \" ? – user798719 Jul 04 '13 at 01:39
10

@user798719 it doesnt add extra \. thats the way it prints it in console. – Victor Miroshnikov Aug 01 '13 at 18:07
TIL json.dumps can act on singleton strings as well as `dict` objects. – MarkHu Apr 22 '14 at 23:30
1

Would like to state that even though this is a nice method since it uses a standard library and has simple usage, using `json.dumps` is slow. Where speed is a crucial element, I would not recommend using this method. – Box Box Box Box Aug 17 '18 at 08:53
as of 2023 I see no escape character here – UMR Jun 01 '23 at 00:06

score 60 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 09 '13 at 03:43

60

Note that you can escape a json array / dictionary by doing json.dumps twice and json.loads twice:

>>> a = {'x':1}
>>> b = json.dumps(json.dumps(a))
>>> b
'"{\\"x\\": 1}"'
>>> json.loads(json.loads(b))
{u'x': 1}

answered Sep 09 '13 at 03:43

Medhat Gayed

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Working out of the box. Thanks! – JeanCarlos Chavarria Jun 18 '19 at 00:29

Andrew · Accepted Answer · 2011-05-13T20:01:52.263

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>>> s = 'my string with \\"double quotes\\" blablabla'
>>> s
'my string with \\"double quotes\\" blablabla'
>>> print s
my string with \"double quotes\" blablabla
>>>

When you just ask for 's' it escapes the \ for you, when you print it, you see the string a more 'raw' state. So now...

>>> s = """my string with "double quotes" blablabla"""
'my string with "double quotes" blablabla'
>>> print s.replace('"', '\\"')
my string with \"double quotes\" blablabla
>>>

edited May 13 '11 at 20:01

answered May 13 '11 at 19:54

Andrew

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It's the difference between `repr()` and `str()`. `print s` prints the string, while `s` on the command line does the same thing as `print repr(s)`. – Mike DeSimone May 13 '11 at 20:00
4

-1 because @zeekay, below, offers a more ideomatic answer: `json.dumps(s)`. It uses standard JSON library to achieve the desired effect. When you encounter this code, you immediately see that we're dealing with JSON serialization. OTOH, when you see `s.replace('"', '\\"')`, you have to guess what's going on. – Pavel Repin May 15 '11 at 16:53
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Sometimes with imbedded python you might not have access to all the imports. – AnthonyVO Apr 11 '12 at 15:47
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-1 in favour of `json.dumps(string)` as it's simpler and cleaner. – tamakisquare Apr 17 '12 at 18:30
1

@tamakisquare Don't forget ***safer*** as well. – Seldom 'Where's Monica' Needy Oct 03 '16 at 18:13
@tamakisquare Don't forget slower as well :) All depends – TheRueger Mar 05 '18 at 14:21

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Feb 20 '21 at 17:11

i know this question is old, but hopefully it will help someone. i found a great plugin for those who are using PyCharm IDE: string-manipulation that can easily escape double quotes (and many more...), this plugin is great for cases where you know what the string going to be. for other cases, using json.dumps(string) will be the recommended solution

str_to_escape = 'my string with "double quotes" blablabla'

after_escape = 'my string with \"double quotes\" blablabla'

Escape double quotes for JSON in Python

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