JSON API Responses
Return consistent JSON from PHP APIs by setting the Content-Type header and encoding an array structure.
PHP
Intermediate
4 min read
Building JSON API Responses
Example
<?php
function jsonResponse(mixed $data, int $status = 200): void {
http_response_code($status);
header("Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8");
echo json_encode([
"data" => $data,
"status" => $status,
"success" => $status < 400,
], JSON_THROW_ON_ERROR | JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE);
exit;
}
function errorResponse(string $message, int $status = 400): void {
http_response_code($status);
header("Content-Type: application/json");
echo json_encode(["error" => $message, "status" => $status]);
exit;
}
// Usage
jsonResponse(["users" => $users]);
errorResponse("User not found", 404); Pro Tip
Exit immediately after outputting JSON in procedural PHP — any whitespace or output after will corrupt the response.