How can I parse JSON responses with HTTParty?

HTTParty is a Ruby gem that simplifies HTTP requests and JSON parsing. HTTParty automatically detects JSON responses based on the Content-Type header and parses them into Ruby objects for easy manipulation.

Automatic JSON Parsing

HTTParty automatically parses JSON responses when the server returns a Content-Type: application/json header:

require 'httparty'

# Make a GET request to a JSON API
response = HTTParty.get('https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/users/1')

# HTTParty automatically parses the JSON response
user_data = response.parsed_response

puts user_data['name']     # Access data like a regular Ruby hash
puts user_data['email']    # user_data is a Hash object
puts user_data.class       # => Hash

Accessing Response Data

HTTParty provides multiple ways to access the parsed JSON data:

response = HTTParty.get('https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts')

# Method 1: Using parsed_response (recommended)
posts = response.parsed_response
puts posts.first['title']

# Method 2: Direct access (same as parsed_response for JSON)
posts = response.body
puts posts.first['title'] if posts.is_a?(Array)

# Method 3: Check response status and handle accordingly
if response.success?
  posts = response.parsed_response
  posts.each { |post| puts post['title'] }
else
  puts "Request failed: #{response.code} #{response.message}"
end

Working with Different JSON Structures

Array Responses

# API returns an array of objects
response = HTTParty.get('https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts')
posts = response.parsed_response

posts.each do |post|
  puts "Title: #{post['title']}"
  puts "Body: #{post['body']}"
  puts "---"
end

Object Responses

# API returns a single object
response = HTTParty.get('https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/users/1')
user = response.parsed_response

puts "Name: #{user['name']}"
puts "Email: #{user['email']}"
puts "Address: #{user['address']['city']}, #{user['address']['street']}"

Manual JSON Parsing

If you need to force JSON parsing regardless of the Content-Type header:

require 'httparty'
require 'json'

class JsonParser < HTTParty::Parser
  def parse
    JSON.parse(body)
  end
end

response = HTTParty.get('https://api.example.com/data', parser: JsonParser)
data = response.parsed_response

Error Handling and Best Practices

Always implement proper error handling when working with JSON APIs:

require 'httparty'

def fetch_user_data(user_id)
  response = HTTParty.get("https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/users/#{user_id}")

  # Check HTTP status
  unless response.success?
    puts "HTTP Error: #{response.code} #{response.message}"
    return nil
  end

  # Parse and return data
  response.parsed_response
rescue HTTParty::Error => e
  puts "HTTParty Error: #{e.message}"
  nil
rescue JSON::ParserError => e
  puts "JSON Parsing Error: #{e.message}"
  nil
rescue StandardError => e
  puts "Unexpected Error: #{e.message}"
  nil
end

# Usage
user = fetch_user_data(1)
if user
  puts "User: #{user['name']} (#{user['email']})"
else
  puts "Failed to fetch user data"
end

POST Requests with JSON

HTTParty also handles JSON responses from POST requests:

require 'httparty'

# Send JSON data and receive JSON response
response = HTTParty.post('https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts',
  body: {
    title: 'My New Post',
    body: 'This is the post content',
    userId: 1
  }.to_json,
  headers: {
    'Content-Type' => 'application/json'
  }
)

if response.success?
  created_post = response.parsed_response
  puts "Created post with ID: #{created_post['id']}"
else
  puts "Failed to create post: #{response.code}"
end

Advanced Response Inspection

For debugging and development, inspect the response object:

response = HTTParty.get('https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/users/1')

puts "Status Code: #{response.code}"
puts "Headers: #{response.headers}"
puts "Content-Type: #{response.headers['content-type']}"
puts "Response Class: #{response.parsed_response.class}"
puts "Raw Body: #{response.body}"

HTTParty makes JSON parsing seamless by automatically detecting and parsing JSON responses, while providing flexibility for custom parsing scenarios and comprehensive error handling.