Getting Data In

Get dynamic json property names

tmortiboy
New Member

I have some structured json logs that indicate some validation errors, and depending on the error, a different property is set with the value that caused the error. eg:

{ "validationError": { "property" : { "title" : "" }, "errorType" : "Empty" } }
{ "validationError": { "property" : { "category" : [] }, "errorType" : "Empty" } }
{ "validationError": { "property" : { "category" : [ { "categoryId" : 12345 } ] }, "errorType" : "Invalid" } }
{ "validationError": { "property" : { "thing" : { "thingId" : 9999 } }, "errorType" : "Disallowed" } }

I would like to be able to retrieve the property name and its value: eg
property | value | type
---------+-------+-----------
title | | Empty
category | | Empty
category | 12345 | Invalid
thing | 9999 | Disallowed

0 Karma
1 Solution

javiergn
Super Champion

So assuming your field is called yourField, I came up with the following (probably overcomplicated) query:

| rex max_match=0 "(?m)(?<yourField>[^\n]+)"
| fields - _raw
| mvexpand yourField
| spath input=yourField path=validationError.property output=propertyRaw
| spath input=yourField path=validationError.errorType output=type
| fields - yourField
| spath input=propertyRaw
| rex field=propertyRaw max_match=1 "(?msi)\"(?<property>[^\"]+)\"\s?:"
| fields - propertyRaw
| eval value = ""
| eval temp = 'category{}.categoryId'
| foreach * [ eval temp = if (match("<<FIELD>>", property), toString('<<FIELD>>'), "") | eval value = value . temp]
| fields property, value, type
| foreach * [ eval <<FIELD>> = if(match(<<FIELD>>, "Null"), null(), <<FIELD>>) ]

Example:

| stats count | fields - count
| eval _raw = "
{ \"validationError\": { \"property\" : { \"title\" : \"\" }, \"errorType\" : \"Empty\" } }
{ \"validationError\": { \"property\" : { \"category\" : [] }, \"errorType\" : \"Empty\" } }
{ \"validationError\": { \"property\" : { \"category\" : [ { \"categoryId\" : 12345 } ] }, \"errorType\" : \"Invalid\" } }
{ \"validationError\": { \"property\" : { \"thing\" : { \"thingId\" : 9999 } }, \"errorType\" : \"Disallowed\" } }
"
| rex max_match=0 "(?m)(?<yourField>[^\n]+)"
| fields - _raw
| mvexpand yourField
| spath input=yourField path=validationError.property output=propertyRaw
| spath input=yourField path=validationError.errorType output=type
| fields - yourField
| spath input=propertyRaw
| rex field=propertyRaw max_match=1 "(?msi)\"(?<property>[^\"]+)\"\s?:"
| fields - propertyRaw
| eval value = ""
| eval temp = 'category{}.categoryId'
| foreach * [ eval temp = if (match("<<FIELD>>", property), toString('<<FIELD>>'), "") | eval value = value . temp]
| fields property, value, type
| foreach * [ eval <<FIELD>> = if(match(<<FIELD>>, "Null"), null(), <<FIELD>>) ]

Output, see picture below:

alt text

View solution in original post

0 Karma

javiergn
Super Champion

So assuming your field is called yourField, I came up with the following (probably overcomplicated) query:

| rex max_match=0 "(?m)(?<yourField>[^\n]+)"
| fields - _raw
| mvexpand yourField
| spath input=yourField path=validationError.property output=propertyRaw
| spath input=yourField path=validationError.errorType output=type
| fields - yourField
| spath input=propertyRaw
| rex field=propertyRaw max_match=1 "(?msi)\"(?<property>[^\"]+)\"\s?:"
| fields - propertyRaw
| eval value = ""
| eval temp = 'category{}.categoryId'
| foreach * [ eval temp = if (match("<<FIELD>>", property), toString('<<FIELD>>'), "") | eval value = value . temp]
| fields property, value, type
| foreach * [ eval <<FIELD>> = if(match(<<FIELD>>, "Null"), null(), <<FIELD>>) ]

Example:

| stats count | fields - count
| eval _raw = "
{ \"validationError\": { \"property\" : { \"title\" : \"\" }, \"errorType\" : \"Empty\" } }
{ \"validationError\": { \"property\" : { \"category\" : [] }, \"errorType\" : \"Empty\" } }
{ \"validationError\": { \"property\" : { \"category\" : [ { \"categoryId\" : 12345 } ] }, \"errorType\" : \"Invalid\" } }
{ \"validationError\": { \"property\" : { \"thing\" : { \"thingId\" : 9999 } }, \"errorType\" : \"Disallowed\" } }
"
| rex max_match=0 "(?m)(?<yourField>[^\n]+)"
| fields - _raw
| mvexpand yourField
| spath input=yourField path=validationError.property output=propertyRaw
| spath input=yourField path=validationError.errorType output=type
| fields - yourField
| spath input=propertyRaw
| rex field=propertyRaw max_match=1 "(?msi)\"(?<property>[^\"]+)\"\s?:"
| fields - propertyRaw
| eval value = ""
| eval temp = 'category{}.categoryId'
| foreach * [ eval temp = if (match("<<FIELD>>", property), toString('<<FIELD>>'), "") | eval value = value . temp]
| fields property, value, type
| foreach * [ eval <<FIELD>> = if(match(<<FIELD>>, "Null"), null(), <<FIELD>>) ]

Output, see picture below:

alt text

0 Karma
Got questions? Get answers!

Join the Splunk Community Slack to learn, troubleshoot, and make connections with fellow Splunk practitioners in real time!

Meet up IRL or virtually!

Join Splunk User Groups to connect and learn in-person by region or remotely by topic or industry.

Get Updates on the Splunk Community!

[Puzzles] Solve, Learn, Repeat: Matching cron expressions

This puzzle (first published here) is based on matching timestamps to cron expressions.All the timestamps ...

Design, Compete, Win: Submit Your Best Splunk Dashboards for a .conf26 Pass

Hello Splunkers,  We’re excited to kick off a Splunk Dashboard contest! We know that dashboards are a primary ...

May 2026 Splunk Expert Sessions: Security & Observability

Level Up Your Operations: May 2026 Splunk Expert Sessions Whether you are refining your security posture or ...