Trying to convert complex JSON to CSV with Powershell - json

Question

I'm fairly new to PowerShell and I am trying to convert this JSON file to CSV.
Using some simple code like this:
$sourceFilePath = "Records.json"
$destinationFilePath = "Records.csv"
((Get-Content -Path $sourceFilePath -Raw) | ConvertFrom-Json) | Export-CSV $destinationFilePath -NoTypeInformation
Results in:
Because I am getting System.Object[] I think I need to do some kind of expansion or "ForEach" of the contact_ids, site_ids, first name aliases, and aliases. I've done some searching and I can't seem to wrap my head around the examples I've been given. Also, "first name aliases" has spaces in it that add to the complexity.
I don't have any control over the source JSON. Here it is as an example:
[
{
"mdm id" : "947b2a12-3aac-480a-a0bf-626aff106f48",
"first name" : "Claude",
"last name" : "Bones",
"contact_ids" : [
"CTP70499"
],
"site_ids" : [
"5015"
],
"first name aliases" : [
"Claude"
],
"aliases" : [
"Claude Bones"
],
"createdDate" : "2020-06-03T19:59:08Z",
"updatedDate" : "2020-06-03T20:48:27Z",
"veevaID" : "V0B000000000569"
},
{
"mdm id" : "bce21b05-0b28-4ebb-a34d-761c1a397821",
"first name" : "Daniel",
"last name" : "Smith",
"contact_ids" : [
"CTP699"
],
"site_ids" : [
"5015"
],
"first name aliases" : [
"Dan",
"Danial",
"Danne",
"Danny",
"Daniel"
],
"aliases" : [
"Daniel Smith"
],
"createdDate" : "2020-06-03T19:59:08Z",
"updatedDate" : "2020-06-03T20:48:27Z",
"veevaID" : "V0B000000000566"
}
]

Answer 1

The values that are arrays will need to be combined into a single value. Regardless of how many values it may have, if it's designated as an array [] in json, it will need to be manipulated. There are several articles and custom functions written on the internet. Your example could be handled with this bit of code.
$JSONdata = #'
[
{
"mdm id" : "947b2a12-3aac-480a-a0bf-626aff106f48",
"first name" : "Claude",
"last name" : "Bones",
"contact_ids" : [
"CTP70499"
],
"site_ids" : [
"5015"
],
"first name aliases" : [
"Claude"
],
"aliases" : [
"Claude Bones"
],
"createdDate" : "2020-06-03T19:59:08Z",
"updatedDate" : "2020-06-03T20:48:27Z",
"veevaID" : "V0B000000000569"
},
{
"mdm id" : "bce21b05-0b28-4ebb-a34d-761c1a397821",
"first name" : "Daniel",
"last name" : "Smith",
"contact_ids" : [
"CTP699"
],
"site_ids" : [
"5015"
],
"first name aliases" : [
"Dan",
"Danial",
"Danne",
"Danny",
"Daniel"
],
"aliases" : [
"Daniel Smith"
],
"createdDate" : "2020-06-03T19:59:08Z",
"updatedDate" : "2020-06-03T20:48:27Z",
"veevaID" : "V0B000000000566"
}
]
'# | ConvertFrom-Json
$JSONdata | foreach {
$record = [ordered]#{}
foreach($property in $_.psobject.Properties)
{
if($property.value -is [string])
{
$record.Add($property.name,$property.value)
}
else
{
$record.Add($property.name,($property.value -join ', '))
}
}
[PSCustomObject]$record
} | ConvertTo-Csv -NoTypeInformation
Output
"mdm id","first name","last name","contact_ids","site_ids","first name aliases","aliases","createdDate","updatedDate","veevaID"
"947b2a12-3aac-480a-a0bf-626aff106f48","Claude","Bones","CTP70499","5015","Claude","Claude Bones","2020-06-03T19:59:08Z","2020-06-03T20:48:27Z","V0B000000000569"
"bce21b05-0b28-4ebb-a34d-761c1a397821","Daniel","Smith","CTP699","5015","Dan, Danial, Danne, Danny, Daniel","Daniel Smith","2020-06-03T19:59:08Z","2020-06-03T20:48:27Z","V0B000000000566"
Simply change it to Export-Csv