Publishing Platform Event with JSON in a Text Field?

Question

When attempting to publish a Platform Event with a valid JSON object inside a custom text field (Message__c), the serialized JSON string appears with backslashes before special characters such as double quotes (").

For example, when assigning the following JSON to Message__c:

{
   "attributes": {
      "type": "Case",
      "url": "/services/data/v57.0/sobjects/Case/Id"
   },
   "Id": "value",
   "RecordTypeId": "value"
}

The resulting event payload contains an escaped string:

{
   "ReplayId": "value",
   "CreatedDate": "value",
   "CreatedById": "value",
   "EventUuid": "value",
   "Message__c": "{\"attributes\":{\"type\":\"Case\",\"url\":\"/services/data/v57.0/sobjects/Case/Id\"},\"Id\":\"value\",\"RecordTypeId\":\"value\"}",
   "_ObjectType": "customEvent__e",
   "_EventType": "value"
}

However, the expected payload should retain the JSON structure within Message__c without escaping double quotes:

"Message__c": {
   "attributes": {
      "type": "Case",
      "url": "/services/data/v57.0/sobjects/Case/Id"
   },
   "Id": "value",
   "RecordTypeId": "value"
}

How can we publish a Platform Event while maintaining the correct JSON format in Message__c?

Answer

When publishing a Platform Event, JSON objects inside text fields are stored as escaped strings, causing backslashes before special characters like double quotes. This happens because JSON notation requires embedded JSON strings to be properly escaped. To maintain a valid JSON structure, the consuming subscriber must deserialize the string before using it.

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If you are publishing the Platform Event using the REST API, the request body itself must be JSON:

{
   "ReplayId": "value",
   "CreatedDate": "value",
   "CreatedById": "value",
   "EventUuid": "value",
   "Message__c": "someMessage",
   "_ObjectType": "customEvent__e",
   "_EventType": "value"
}

Explanation: The above JSON represents a Platform Event payload in Salesforce, where ReplayId, CreatedDate, CreatedById, and EventUuid store metadata about the event. The Message__c field contains a string (someMessage), which can be a serialized JSON object. _ObjectType and _EventType indicate the event type and structure for processing in Salesforce.

Since Message__c is a text field, assigning a JSON object directly would result in it being converted to a string. In JSON notation, any embedded JSON string must escape double quotes ("), which is why you see backslashes (\).

To work with the correct JSON structure, the consuming Apex subscriber (such as an Apex trigger) should deserialize Message__c before using it:

Case myCase = (Case) JSON.deserialize(myPlatformEvent.Message__c, Case.class);

If you are processing this event in Apex, you must handle Message__c as a string and parse it as needed. Salesforce does not store raw JSON objects inside text fields; they are always stored as strings, requiring deserialization when read.

Summing Up

Salesforce stores JSON data in text fields as string literals, automatically escaping double quotes when publishing Platform Events. This behavior is expected because JSON inside a text field is treated as a string rather than an actual JSON object. To maintain proper JSON formatting, subscribers must deserialize the Message__c field before use. If publishing via the REST API, escaping is required, but Apex consumers can easily convert the stored string back into a usable object using JSON.deserialize(). Understanding this ensures seamless handling of structured data within Platform Events.

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