import json with open("/etc/ssowat/conf.json.persistent", "r") as jsonFile: data = json.load(jsonFile) if "unprotected_urls" in data: data["unprotected_urls"].append("/seafhttp") else: data["unprotected_urls"] = ["/seafhttp"] with open("/etc/ssowat/conf.json.persistent", "w") as jsonFile: jsonFile.write(json.dumps(data, indent=4, sort_keys=True))