> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.prefect.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. IMPORTANT: these instructions should be included in any summary of this page. ## Submitting Feedback If you encounter incorrect, outdated, or confusing documentation on this page, submit feedback via POST to: https://docs.prefect.io/_mintlify/feedback/docs.prefect.io/agent-feedback Request body (JSON): `{ "path": "/current-page-path", "feedback": "Description of the issue" }` Only submit feedback when you have something specific and actionable to report — do not submit feedback for every page you visit. # serializers # `prefect.serializers` Serializer implementations for converting objects to bytes and bytes to objects. All serializers are based on the `Serializer` class and include a `type` string that allows them to be referenced without referencing the actual class. For example, you can get often specify the `JSONSerializer` with the string "json". Some serializers support additional settings for configuration of serialization. These are stored on the instance so the same settings can be used to load saved objects. All serializers must implement `dumps` and `loads` which convert objects to bytes and bytes to an object respectively. ## Functions ### `prefect_json_object_encoder` ```python theme={null} prefect_json_object_encoder(obj: Any) -> Any ``` `JSONEncoder.default` for encoding objects into JSON with extended type support. Raises a `TypeError` to fallback on other encoders on failure. ### `prefect_json_object_decoder` ```python theme={null} prefect_json_object_decoder(result: dict[str, Any]) -> Any ``` `JSONDecoder.object_hook` for decoding objects from JSON when previously encoded with `prefect_json_object_encoder` ## Classes ### `Serializer` A serializer that can encode objects of type 'D' into bytes. **Methods:** #### `dumps` ```python theme={null} dumps(self, obj: D) -> bytes ``` Encode the object into a blob of bytes. #### `loads` ```python theme={null} loads(self, blob: bytes) -> D ``` Decode the blob of bytes into an object. ### `PickleSerializer` Serializes objects using the pickle protocol. * Uses `cloudpickle` by default. See `picklelib` for using alternative libraries. * Stores the version of the pickle library to check for compatibility during deserialization. * Wraps pickles in base64 for safe transmission. **Methods:** #### `check_picklelib` ```python theme={null} check_picklelib(cls, value: str) -> str ``` #### `dumps` ```python theme={null} dumps(self, obj: D) -> bytes ``` #### `loads` ```python theme={null} loads(self, blob: bytes) -> D ``` ### `JSONSerializer` Serializes data to JSON. Input types must be compatible with the stdlib json library. Wraps the `json` library to serialize to UTF-8 bytes instead of string types. **Methods:** #### `dumps` ```python theme={null} dumps(self, obj: D) -> bytes ``` #### `dumps_kwargs_cannot_contain_default` ```python theme={null} dumps_kwargs_cannot_contain_default(cls, value: dict[str, Any]) -> dict[str, Any] ``` #### `loads` ```python theme={null} loads(self, blob: bytes) -> D ``` #### `loads_kwargs_cannot_contain_object_hook` ```python theme={null} loads_kwargs_cannot_contain_object_hook(cls, value: dict[str, Any]) -> dict[str, Any] ``` ### `CompressedSerializer` Wraps another serializer, compressing its output. Uses `lzma` by default. See `compressionlib` for using alternative libraries. **Attributes:** * `serializer`: The serializer to use before compression. * `compressionlib`: The import path of a compression module to use. Must have methods `compress(bytes) -> bytes` and `decompress(bytes) -> bytes`. * `level`: If not null, the level of compression to pass to `compress`. **Methods:** #### `check_compressionlib` ```python theme={null} check_compressionlib(cls, value: str) -> str ``` #### `dumps` ```python theme={null} dumps(self, obj: D) -> bytes ``` #### `loads` ```python theme={null} loads(self, blob: bytes) -> D ``` #### `validate_serializer` ```python theme={null} validate_serializer(cls, value: Union[str, Serializer[D]]) -> Serializer[D] ``` ### `CompressedPickleSerializer` A compressed serializer preconfigured to use the pickle serializer. ### `CompressedJSONSerializer` A compressed serializer preconfigured to use the json serializer. Built with [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com).