String()

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
`value`	any	Yes	Value to convert to string. Accepts any type including CLR/.NET objects.

Description

String() is the native JavaScript string conversion function. In standard JavaScript, it converts primitives like numbers and booleans to their string form. In SFMC SSJS, it has a critical additional use case: converting the CLR (Common Language Runtime) response object returned by Script.Util.HttpRequest.send().content into a JavaScript string.

The .content property of an HTTP response is a .NET object, not a JavaScript string. It cannot be passed directly to Platform.Function.ParseJSON(). You must first call String(resp.content) to convert it.

Difference from Stringify():

String(value) → converts any value (including CLR objects) to a plain JS string
Stringify(value) → serializes a JavaScript value to a JSON string

Examples

Convert HTTP response content for JSON parsing

This is the primary use case for String() in SSJS:

var req = new Script.Util.HttpRequest("https://api.example.com/data");
req.method = "GET";
req.setHeader("Authorization", "Bearer " + accessToken);
var resp = req.send();

// resp.content is a CLR object — cannot pass directly to ParseJSON
var bodyStr = String(resp.content);   // CLR → JS string
var data    = Platform.Function.ParseJSON(bodyStr + ""); // JS string → JS object

Write(data.name);

Number to string

var n = 42;
var s = String(n); // "42"
Write(s + " items");

Boolean to string

var active = true;
Write("Active: " + String(active)); // "Active: true"

Complete HTTP + JSON pattern

<script runat="server">
Platform.Load("core", "1.1.5");

try {
    // Fetch an OAuth token (example)
    var tokenReq = new Script.Util.HttpRequest("https://auth.example.com/token");
    tokenReq.method = "POST";
    tokenReq.setHeader("Content-Type", "application/x-www-form-urlencoded");
    tokenReq.postData = "grant_type=client_credentials&client_id=xxx&client_secret=yyy";
    var tokenResp = tokenReq.send();

    if (tokenResp.statusCode !== 200) {
        throw new Error("Token request failed: " + tokenResp.statusCode);
    }

    // Convert CLR content → string → object
    var tokenObj = Platform.Function.ParseJSON(String(tokenResp.content) + "");
    var accessToken = tokenObj.access_token;

    // Use token in another request
    var dataReq = new Script.Util.HttpRequest("https://api.example.com/subscribers");
    dataReq.method = "GET";
    dataReq.setHeader("Authorization", "Bearer " + accessToken);
    var dataResp = dataReq.send();

    var result = Platform.Function.ParseJSON(String(dataResp.content) + "");
    Write(Stringify(result));

} catch (e) {
    Write("Error: " + e.message);
}
</script>

Common Mistakes

Not using String() before ParseJSON:

// ❌ May fail — resp.content is a CLR object, not a JS string
var data = Platform.Function.ParseJSON(resp.content);

// ✅ Convert first
var data = Platform.Function.ParseJSON(String(resp.content) + "");

Confusing String() with Stringify():

var obj = { a: 1, b: 2 };

String(obj);      // "[object Object]"   — NOT useful for JSON
Stringify(obj);   // '{"a":1,"b":2}'     — JSON serialization