Serialize

Serialize form data into a query string, array, object, or JSON string.

1. Installation
2. Creating a new instance
3. Instance methods

Installation

Script Tag

The easiest way to get started is by using the jsDelivr CDN via an HTML <script></script> tag.

Serialize uses semantic versioning. You can grab a major, minor, or patch version from the CDN with the @1.2.3 syntax. You can find all available versions under releases.

<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@kieranbarker/serialize@1/dist/serialize.min.js"></script>

You can also download the files directly from GitHub.

Compiled and production-ready code can be found in the dist directory. The src directory contains development code.

<script src="path/to/serialize.min.js"></script>

ES Module

Serialize also supports modern browsers and module bundlers (Rollup, Webpack, Snowpack, etc.) using the ES module import syntax. Use the .es version.

import { Serialize } from 'https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@kieranbarker/serialize@1/dist/serialize.es.min.js';

CommonJS

You can also use npm. First, install the package via the command line.

npm i @kieranbarker/serialize

Then import the package.

const { Serialize } = require('@kieranbarker/serialize');

AMD

If you use RequireJS, SystemJS, or another AMD format, you can import Serialize with the .amd version.

requirejs(['https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@kieranbarker/serialize@1/dist/serialize.amd.min.js'], function ({ Serialize }) {
  //...
});

Creating a new instance

To create a new Serialize instance, simply instantiate the class using the new operator.

You pass in an HTMLFormElement.

NOTE: Each form field needs to have a name attribute.

I'm using the document.forms property throughout this documentation:

const serialize = new Serialize(document.forms[0]);

But you can select a form any way you like:

const form = document.querySelector('form');
const serialize = new Serialize(form);

Instance methods

string()

Serialize all form data into a query string.

Parameters: None.

Returns: {String} The serialized form data.

document.forms[0].addEventListener('submit', function (event) {
  event.preventDefault();
  const data = new Serialize(this).string();
  console.log(data);
});

array()

Serialize all form data into an array.

Parameters: None.

Returns: {Array} The serialized form data.

document.forms[0].addEventListener('submit', function (event) {
  event.preventDefault();
  const data = new Serialize(this).array();
  console.log(data);
});

object()

Serialize all form data into an object.

Parameters: None.

Returns: {Object} The serialized form data.

document.forms[0].addEventListener('submit', function (event) {
  event.preventDefault();
  const data = new Serialize(this).object();
  console.log(data);
});

json()

Serialize all form data into a JSON string.

Parameters: None.

Returns: {String} The serialized form data.

document.forms[0].addEventListener('submit', function (event) {
  event.preventDefault();
  const data = new Serialize(this).json();
  console.log(data);
});