JSONPath Query Examples in C# — Newtonsoft.Json SelectTokens Patterns (.NET 6)

A .NET 6 console application demonstrating 14 JSONPath query patterns in C# using Newtonsoft.Json’s JObject.SelectTokens method — wildcards, array indexes, recursive descent, filter expressions with && and ||, and regular-expression matches. The project serves as a practical reference for navigating complex, nested JSON structures.

Overview

JSONPath (via JObject.SelectTokens) is more expressive than XPath for JSON because it natively understands JSON arrays, nested objects, and filter expressions. This project runs several distinct queries against a sample person record (Data.json) and prints the results to the console.

Query Patterns Demonstrated

Pattern Description
$.* All root-level elements
$.education Specific property at the root level
$.parents[*] All elements of the parents array
$.parents[?(@.relationship == 'father')] Array filter by property equality
$.parents[?(@.relationship == 'father' && @.age == 40)] Array filter with AND condition
$..* All elements at any depth (recursive descent)
$..location All location properties at any depth
$.communication.addresses.location[*] All elements of a nested array, reached by an explicit path
$.parents..relationship Recursive descent within the parents subtree
$..personal..number Nested recursive search
$.parents[0] First element of an array by index
$..location[0] First location at any depth
$.parents[?(@.name =~ /^J/)] Array filter using a regular expression
$.parents[?(@.occupation == 'Teacher' \|\| @.age >= 40)] Array filter with OR condition

Sample Data (Data.json)

The JSON file describes a person with:

  • name, age
  • communication — email addresses, location (city, coordinates, postal code), phone numbers
  • education — institution, degrees, major
  • parents — array of two objects (father and mother) with name, age, occupation, email, and relationship
  • miscellaneous — array of hobby entries
  • messageHeader — id and created date

Requirements

NuGet Packages

Package Version
Newtonsoft.Json 13.0.3

Build and Run

cd JsonSearchPatterns
dotnet run

The application prints the results of each query to the console, separated by blank lines.

Project Structure

JsonSearchPatterns/
├── Data.json               # Sample person JSON document
├── FileHandler.cs          # Reads Data.json and runs SelectTokens queries
├── Program.cs              # Executes all query patterns and prints results
├── JsonSearchPatterns.csproj
└── JsonSearchPatterns.sln

FAQ

What is the difference between SelectToken and SelectTokens? SelectToken returns a single matching token (or null), while SelectTokens returns every match as an IEnumerable<JToken>. This project uses SelectTokens so that wildcard, recursive, and filter queries can return several results.

Can I run the same queries with System.Text.Json? These examples rely on Newtonsoft.Json’s built-in JSONPath support through SelectTokens; System.Text.Json does not offer this method.

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