Export data from SQL Server to JSON via command line on Windows

Want to export SQL Server data to JSON Lines (JSONL) file via Command Line Interface (CLI) on Windows?

Using mssql-cmd, Command Line Interface (CLI) client for SQL Server, you can unload SQL Server data to JSON easily and fast. Direct Interaction or Scripting and Automation.

• No need to install SQL Server client library.
• Convenient to deploy to cloud. No need to run installation file, just uncompress and run, immediately.
• Commands are entered into a terminal or command prompt, accessed from local or remote (like SSH).
• Support Windows, Linux, and MacOS.

Download mssql-cmd Windows version
mssql-cmd.windows-386.zip
mssql-cmd.windows-amd64.zip

JSON Lines text format, also called newline-delimited JSON (NDJSON), or Line-delimited JSON (LDJSON). JSON Lines files may be saved with the file extension .jsonl, *.ndjson, *.ldjson.

Export SQL Server data to JSON via command line on Windows

1. Unload Table.

1) In interactive mode:

mssql-cmd> unload table=jobs datafile=e:\temp\tables\jobs.json filetype=json;

2) In batch mode:

mssql-cmd dsn="pan:withdata@192.168.0.102/test" task=unload table=jobs datafile=e:\temp\tables\jobs.json filetype=json quit=y

2. Unload Query.

1) In interactive mode:

mssql-cmd> unload query="select job_id,job_title from jobs"
     >  datafile=e:\temp\tables\jobs_part.json
     >  filetype=json;

2) In batch mode:

mssql-cmd dsn="pan:withdata@192.168.0.102/test" task=unload query="select job_id,job_title from jobs" datafile=e:\temp\tables\jobs_part.json filetype=json quit=y

3. Unload All Tables.

1) In interactive mode:

mssql-cmd> unload table=all folder=e:\temp\tables filetype=json;

2) In batch mode:

mssql-cmd dsn="pan:withdata@192.168.0.102/test" task=unload table=all folder=e:\temp\tables filetype=json quit=y

See parameters detail.

---

More about mssql-cmd – Command Line Interface (CLI) tool for SQL Server

SQL Server → JSON reference

Type mapping

Value kind	in SQL Server	in JSON
Int	int	1234 (number)
Bigint	bigint	9007199254740993
Decimal	decimal(p,s)	1234.56 (number)
Float	float	1.234e10 (number)
Text	nvarchar(n)	"text" (string)
Long text	nvarchar(max)	"multi-line\ntext" (escaped newline inside a string)
Date	date	"2026-09-18" (string)
Datetime	datetime2	"2026-09-18T14:30:00Z" (string)
Binary	varbinary(max)	"base64:..." (string)
Boolean	bit	true / false (boolean)
JSON	nvarchar(max)	nested object or array, kept as structure

Dialect differences

SQL Server is a database server and JSON is a file format, so the gap is wider than a dialect difference - the rows below are where values and structure stop lining up.

Property	in SQL Server	in JSON
port	1433	—
identifiers	[square brackets]	Double quotes; backslash escapes
row limit	SELECT TOP n	—
dates	datetime, datetime2, date, time	No date type: dates arrive as strings and the reader must p...
long text	nvarchar(max)	—
binary	varbinary(max)	Not supported natively - base64 inside a string
separator	—	Braces and commas
encoding	—	UTF-8 by definition
typing	—	string, number, boolean, null, object, array - no date type
shape	Tables of rows and columns	Nested objects and arrays
ceiling	—	Whole document is usually parsed into memory

Command line

Side	Command
SQL Server	bcp
SQL Server (load)	bcp, or BULK INSERT

Convert your data online, free

Free in-browser converters for CSV, Excel, JSON, XML and SQL: Withdata Online Data Conversion. Large files, batch conversion or scheduling? See the offline desktop apps, or browse all data conversion tools.