How to export WooCommerce data to JSON

If you’re feeding store data into a script, an API, or another system, a flat spreadsheet gets in the way. JSON gives you each record as a self-contained object that nearly every programming language and integration tool can read directly. Store Exporter Deluxe can export any supported data type as JSON through its CRON export URL. Below, you turn on CRON exports, build the URL that returns JSON, and learn how to read, open, and customize the output.

Prerequisites

JSON isn’t one of the File Format tiles on the Quick Export screen, and it isn’t offered in Export Templates. You request it through the CRON export URL instead, as described below.

Step 1: Turn on CRON exports

1. Go to WooCommerce → Store Export.
2. In the sidebar, click Settings.
3. Click CRON Exports.
4. Turn on Enable CRON.
5. Enter a long, random value in Export Secret Key.
6. Under Export Fields, choose which fields a CRON export includes.
7. Click Save Changes.

Enable CRON is off by default. While it’s off, the plugin ignores the export URL. It also ignores any request whose key doesn’t match Export Secret Key, and every request while that field is empty. Treat the key like a password, because anyone with the key and your URL can download your store data.

The Export Fields options are:

• All export fields: includes every known field for the export type you request.
• Use Export Template: uses the fields from a saved Export Template.
• Saved field preferences: uses the fields you saved on the Quick Export screen for that export type.

Step 2: Build the export URL

Start from your site address and add the parameters below. Replace YOUR_SECRET_KEY with the key you set in Step 1:

https://example.com/?action=woo_ce-cron&key=YOUR_SECRET_KEY&type=product&format=json&response=download

Step 3: Run the export

Open the URL in your browser. With response=download, your browser saves a file named like my-store-export_product-2026_10_20-07_18_54-93680224.json. With response=raw, the JSON appears on the page instead.

To automate it, request the same URL from a script or a scheduled job on your server:

curl -s "https://example.com/?action=woo_ce-cron&key=YOUR_SECRET_KEY&type=order&format=json&response=raw" -o orders.json

What the output looks like

The file is one JSON object. Its single key is the export type, and its value is a list of records. A Products export looks like this:

{
    "product": [
        {
            "productid": "15",
            "productsku": "HD-FLC-CLS",
            "productname": "Classic Fit Fleece Hoodie",
            "parentsku": {}
        }
    ]
}

A few things are worth knowing before you build anything on top of it:

• Field names are simplified: each field’s name is its column label in lowercase, with spaces and most symbols removed. Hyphens and underscores stay. So Product Name becomes productname, and E-mail becomes e-mail.
• Every value is text: numbers, prices, and IDs are written as strings, such as "15" rather than 15. Convert them in your own code if you need numeric types.
• Some values are written as {}: a field with no value is written as {}, not "" or null. The Category field of a Products export, and text that holds special characters such as non-breaking spaces, also come through as {}. If you need those values, export the same data as XML or CSV.
• Orders carry an extra key: each order record also includes an @attributes entry holding the order’s ID.
• A single record isn’t wrapped in a list: if your export contains exactly one record, the export type’s key holds that record directly instead of a one-item list. If you pull in one record at a time using limit=1, handle both shapes in your code.
• The output is pretty-printed: the file uses indentation and line breaks so it’s easy to read.

Format-specific options

JSON exports have no settings of their own. There’s no delimiter or structure option to choose, and the file is always UTF-8. General settings still apply, so Date Format controls how dates appear in the JSON. Settings that only apply to other formats, such as Field Delimiter and Line Ending Formatting (CSV and TSV), don’t change a JSON file. To change the JSON itself, use the hooks in the developer section below.

Opening your JSON file

• Web browser or code editor: open the file in any modern browser, VS Code, or a text editor. Most editors can collapse and expand each object.
• Command line: use jq to filter and reshape it, for example jq '.product[].productsku' products.json.
• API tools: tools such as Postman can load a JSON file as a request body or as sample data.
• Spreadsheets: Excel’s Get Data → From File → From JSON option (Power Query) can flatten the records into rows. If you mainly want a spreadsheet, a CSV or Excel export is simpler.
• Your own code: every mainstream language can parse JSON with a built-in or standard library.

Customizing the JSON output with hooks

Store Exporter Deluxe fires filter hooks around the JSON export, so a developer can change the output without editing plugin files. These hooks run for exports requested through the CRON URL.

For example, to remove the indentation and keep slashes and non-English characters readable, return different JSON options:

add_filter( 'woo_ce_export_json_constants', function () {
    return JSON_UNESCAPED_SLASHES | JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE;
} );

The JSON_UNESCAPED_SLASHES option stops URLs from being written as https:\/\/example.com. The JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE option keeps characters such as accents and non-Latin scripts as they are instead of turning them into \u codes.

For the wider list of hooks that run during an export, see Available hooks and filters for further customization.

This is a developer customization. If you’re not comfortable adding code through a custom plugin or your theme’s functions.php, open a support ticket and our team can help.

Troubleshooting

Frequently asked questions

Related articles

• How to export via manual CRON
• Available hooks and filters for further customization
• How to export WooCommerce data to Excel (XLS/XLSX)

Need help?

If you have a question or run into any issues, we’re here to help.

• Premium users: Open a support ticket
• Free users: Visit our community forum