How do I install the Mariadb JSON Functions skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add mariadb-corporation/mariadb-json-functions in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

What does the Mariadb JSON Functions skill do?

Catalog of MariaDB JSON functions with signatures and semantics, covering constructors, extraction, modification, merging, validation, introspection, and formatting. Use when writing SQL that builds, queries, or alters JSON data in MariaDB. It is listed under Data & Analytics, SQL & Databases on SkillMD.

Is Mariadb JSON Functions safe to use?

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Which AI agents work with Mariadb JSON Functions?

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Is Mariadb JSON Functions free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Mariadb JSON Functions?

mariadb-corporation (@mariadb-corporation) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Mariadb JSON Functions by mariadb-corporation

Name: Mariadb JSON Functions
Rating: 4.2 (5 reviews)
Author: mariadb-corporation

MariaDB JSON Functions

Last updated: 2026-06-02

Catalog of every built-in JSON function in MariaDB, with signature and a one-line semantic summary per entry. For a function not listed here, fall back to the canonical reference at https://mariadb.com/docs/server/reference/sql-functions/special-functions/json-functions. For JSONPath syntax (used by JSON_EXTRACT, JSON_QUERY, JSON_VALUE, JSON_TABLE, etc.), see https://mariadb.com/docs/server/reference/sql-functions/special-functions/json-functions/jsonpath-expressions.

Default context: Assume MariaDB 11.8 LTS (GA May 2025) unless the user states another version. Functions with a *(since X.Y)* annotation are only available from that version onward; everything else is in every current LTS branch (10.6, 10.11, 11.4, 11.8).

What LLMs Often Miss

If the agent writes / assumes…	…prefer the MariaDB form
`CREATE TABLE t (j JSON)` and expects a binary JSON column type	MariaDB's `JSON` is an alias for `LONGTEXT` with an automatic `CHECK (JSON_VALID(j))` constraint — there's no binary JSON storage type. Operations parse the text at query time
`JSON_VALUE` and `JSON_QUERY` are interchangeable	They aren't. `JSON_VALUE` returns a scalar (or `NULL`); `JSON_QUERY` returns a JSON object or array (or `NULL`). Using the wrong one is a frequent bug. There's a dedicated "Differences between JSON_QUERY and JSON_VALUE" doc page if you need details
Using `JSON_EXTRACT` to read a scalar and getting `"value"` with the quotes	`JSON_EXTRACT` returns the JSON representation, including string quotes. Wrap in `JSON_UNQUOTE`, use the `->>` operator (which does both), or use `JSON_VALUE`
Treating `JSON_EXTRACT('[1,2,3]', '$[*]')` as returning a single value	When a path matches multiple values, the result is autowrapped as a JSON array — `[1, 2, 3]` here. Use specific paths (`$[0]`) for single-value extraction
Calling `JSON_TABLE(...)` in the `SELECT` list	`JSON_TABLE` is a table function — goes in the `FROM` clause (or as a derived table). It projects a JSON document into a relational form. Available since 10.6
`SELECT j -> '$.x' FROM t` returning unquoted scalars	`->` is a shorthand for `JSON_EXTRACT` (still quoted). `->>` is `JSON_EXTRACT` + `JSON_UNQUOTE`. Use `->>` when you want raw scalar values
`JSON_OBJECT('a', 1, 'b', 2)` getting reordered output	Key order is preserved as written in MariaDB. Don't rely on the same behavior across other databases
Adding `CHECK (JSON_VALID(c))` on a `JSON`-typed column	The auto-constraint on the `JSON` alias type already does this — adding it again is redundant but harmless
`JSON_SCHEMA_VALID` returning a useful error when validation fails	It only returns `0` or `1`. There is no "what failed" diagnostic — use a dedicated JSON-schema tool if you need that. Available since 11.1
Reaching for `JSON_PRETTY`	Works — it's an alias for `JSON_DETAILED` in MariaDB. Either spelling is fine; `JSON_DETAILED` is the canonical name

Functions

Auto-generated from the canonical server/reference/sql-functions/special-functions/json-functions/ pages by agent-skills/extractor/extract_function_category.py; regenerate when the doc tree changes. Do not hand-edit between the markers.

JSON_ARRAY

JSON_ARRAY([value[, value2] ...])
Returns a JSON array containing the listed values.

JSON_ARRAYAGG

JSON_ARRAYAGG(column_or_expression)
JSON_ARRAYAGG returns a JSON array containing an element for each value in a given set of JSON or SQL values. (since 10.5)

JSON_ARRAY_APPEND

JSON_ARRAY_APPEND(json_doc, path, value[, path, value] ...)
Appends values to the end of the specified arrays within a JSON document, returning the result, or NULL if any of the arguments are NULL.

JSON_ARRAY_INSERT

JSON_ARRAY_INSERT(json_doc, path, value[, path, value] ...)
Inserts a value into a JSON document, returning the modified document, or NULL if any of the arguments are NULL.

JSON_ARRAY_INTERSECT

JSON_ARRAY_INTERSECT(arr1, arr2)
Finds intersection between two json arrays and returns an array of items found in both array. (since 11.2)

JSON_COMPACT

JSON_COMPACT(json_doc)
Removes all unnecessary spaces so the json document is as short as possible.

JSON_CONTAINS

JSON_CONTAINS(json_doc, val[, path])
Returns whether or not the specified value is found in the given JSON document or, optionally, at the specified path within the document.

JSON_CONTAINS_PATH

JSON_CONTAINS_PATH(json_doc, return_arg, path[, path] ...)
Indicates whether the given JSON document contains data at the specified path or paths.

JSON_DEPTH

JSON_DEPTH(json_doc)
Returns the maximum depth of the given JSON document, or NULL if the argument is null.

JSON_DETAILED

JSON_DETAILED(json_doc[, tab_size])
Represents JSON in the most understandable way emphasizing nested structures.

JSON_EQUALS

JSON_EQUALS(json1, json2)
Checks if there is equality between two json objects. (since 10.7)

JSON_EXISTS

JSON_EXISTS(json_doc, json_path)
Determines whether json_doc has an element pointed to by path json_path.

JSON_EXTRACT

JSON_EXTRACT(json_doc, path[, path] ...)
Extracts data from a JSON document.

JSON_INSERT

JSON_INSERT(json_doc, path, val[, path, val] ...)
Inserts data into a JSON document, returning the resulting document or NULL if either of the json_doc or path arguments are null.

JSON_KEYS

JSON_KEYS(json_doc[, path])
Returns the keys as a JSON array from the top-level value of a JSON object or, if the optional path argument is provided, the top-level keys from the path.

JSON_KEY_VALUE

JSON_KEY_VALUE(obj, json_path)
JSON_KEY_VALUE extracts key/value pairs from a JSON object. (since 11.2)

JSON_LENGTH

JSON_LENGTH(json_doc[, path])
Returns the length of a JSON document, or, if the optional path argument is given, the length of the value within the document specified by the path.

JSON_LOOSE

JSON_LOOSE(json_doc)
Adds spaces to a JSON document to make it look more readable.

JSON_MERGE

JSON_MERGE(json_doc, json_doc[, json_doc] ...)
Merges the given JSON documents.

JSON_MERGE_PATCH

JSON_MERGE_PATCH(json_doc, json_doc[, json_doc] ...)
Merges the given JSON documents, returning the merged result, or NULL if any argument is NULL.

JSON_MERGE_PRESERVE

JSON_MERGE_PRESERVE(json_doc, json_doc[, json_doc] ...)
Merges the given JSON documents, returning the merged result, or NULL if any argument is NULL.

JSON_NORMALIZE

JSON_NORMALIZE(json)
Recursively sorts keys and removes spaces, allowing comparison of json documents for equality. (since 10.7)

JSON_OBJECT

JSON_OBJECT([key, value[, key, value] ...])
Returns a JSON object containing the given key/value pairs.

JSON_OBJECTAGG

JSON_OBJECTAGG(key, value)
JSON_OBJECTAGG returns a JSON object containing key-value pairs. (since 10.5)

JSON_OBJECT_FILTER_KEYS

JSON_OBJECT_FILTER_KEYS(obj, array_keys)
JSON_OBJECT_FILTER_KEYS returns a JSON object with keys from the object that are also present in the array as string. (since 11.2)

JSON_OBJECT_TO_ARRAY

JSON_OBJECT_TO_ARRAY(Obj)
It is used to convert all JSON objects found in a JSON document to JSON arrays where each item in the outer array represents a single key-value pair from the object. (since 11.2)

JSON_OVERLAPS

JSON_OVERLAPS(json_doc1, json_doc2)
JSON_OVERLAPS() compares two json documents and returns true if they have at least one common key-value pair between two objects, array element common between two arrays, or array element common with scalar if one of the arguments is a scalar and other is an array. (since 10.9)

JSON_PRETTY

Alias for JSON_DETAILED. (since 10.10.3)

JSON_QUERY

JSON_QUERY(json_doc, path)
Given a JSON document, returns an object or array specified by the path.

JSON_QUOTE

JSON_QUOTE(json_value)
Quotes a string as a JSON value, usually for producing valid JSON string literals for inclusion in JSON documents.

JSON_REMOVE

JSON_REMOVE(json_doc, path[, path] ...)
Removes data from a JSON document returning the result, or NULL if any of the arguments are null.

JSON_REPLACE

JSON_REPLACE(json_doc, path, val[, path, val] ...)
Replaces existing values in a JSON document, returning the result, or NULL if any of the arguments are NULL.

JSON_SCHEMA_VALID

JSON_SCHEMA_VALID(schema, json);
JSON_SCHEMA_VALID allows MariaDB to support JSON schema validation. (since 11.1)

JSON_SEARCH

JSON_SEARCH(json_doc, return_arg, search_str[, escape_char[, path] ...])
Returns the path to the given string within a JSON document, or NULL if any of json_doc, search_str or a path argument is NULL; if the search string is not found, or if no path exists within the document.

JSON_SET

JSON_SET(json_doc, path, val[, path, val] ...)
Updates or inserts data into a JSON document, returning the result, or NULL if any of the arguments are NULL or the optional path fails to find an object.

JSON_TABLE

JSON_TABLE(json_doc,
JSON_TABLE can be used in contexts where a table reference can be used; in the FROM clause of a SELECT statement, and in multi-table UPDATE/DELETE statements. (since 10.6)

JSON_TYPE

JSON_TYPE(json_val)
Returns the type of a JSON value (as a string), or NULL if the argument is null.

JSON_UNQUOTE

JSON_UNQUOTE(val)
Unquotes a JSON value, returning a string, or NULL if the argument is null.

JSON_VALID

JSON_VALID(value)
Indicates whether the given value is a valid JSON document or not.

JSON_VALUE

JSON_VALUE(json_doc, path)
Given a JSON document, returns the scalar specified by the path.

Related Operators (Not Covered Above)

-> — Shorthand for JSON_EXTRACT(json_doc, path)
->> — Shorthand for JSON_UNQUOTE(JSON_EXTRACT(json_doc, path))
IS [NOT] JSON — Test whether a value parses as valid JSON. See the operator reference for the full form

Mariadb JSON Functions

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