Swift JSONDecode decoding arrays fails if single element decoding fails

One option is to use a wrapper type that attempts to decode a given value; storing nil if unsuccessful:

struct FailableDecodable<Base : Decodable> : Decodable {

    let base: Base?

    init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
        let container = try decoder.singleValueContainer()
        self.base = try? container.decode(Base.self)
    }
}

We can then decode an array of these, with your GroceryProduct filling in the Base placeholder:

import Foundation

let json = """
[
    {
        "name": "Banana",
        "points": 200,
        "description": "A banana grown in Ecuador."
    },
    {
        "name": "Orange"
    }
]
""".data(using: .utf8)!


struct GroceryProduct : Codable {
    var name: String
    var points: Int
    var description: String?
}

let products = try JSONDecoder()
    .decode([FailableDecodable<GroceryProduct>].self, from: json)
    .compactMap { $0.base } // .flatMap in Swift 4.0

print(products)

// [
//    GroceryProduct(
//      name: "Banana", points: 200,
//      description: Optional("A banana grown in Ecuador.")
//    )
// ]

We’re then using .compactMap { $0.base } to filter out nil elements (those that threw an error on decoding).

This will create an intermediate array of [FailableDecodable<GroceryProduct>], which shouldn’t be an issue; however if you wish to avoid it, you could always create another wrapper type that decodes and unwraps each element from an unkeyed container:

struct FailableCodableArray<Element : Codable> : Codable {

    var elements: [Element]

    init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {

        var container = try decoder.unkeyedContainer()

        var elements = [Element]()
        if let count = container.count {
            elements.reserveCapacity(count)
        }

        while !container.isAtEnd {
            if let element = try container
                .decode(FailableDecodable<Element>.self).base {

                elements.append(element)
            }
        }

        self.elements = elements
    }

    func encode(to encoder: Encoder) throws {
        var container = encoder.singleValueContainer()
        try container.encode(elements)
    }
}

You would then decode as:

let products = try JSONDecoder()
    .decode(FailableCodableArray<GroceryProduct>.self, from: json)
    .elements

print(products)

// [
//    GroceryProduct(
//      name: "Banana", points: 200,
//      description: Optional("A banana grown in Ecuador.")
//    )
// ]