JSON Formatter & Converter

🔤 What is JSON?

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a lightweight, text-based data format used for data interchange between systems. It is easy for humans to read and write, and easy for machines to parse and generate.

JSON is widely used in web APIs, configuration files, and data storage due to its simplicity and compatibility with most programming languages.

⚙️ How This JSON Formatter & Converter Works

This tool formats and validates JSON data, making it easier to read, debug, and share. It also highlights syntax errors and allows you to customize the indentation style for your needs.

Supported Features:

• Pretty Printing:Format unstructured JSON into a human-readable, indented format. Field order is preserved as in your input JSON.
• Tree View Visualization:Interactive tree structure display with expand/collapse functionality for easy JSON navigation. Object fields are shown in the same order as your input JSON.
• Table View:Interactive table display with sorting, searching, and pagination for array of objects data. Columns are displayed in the exact order as defined in your input JSON. Removing sorting will restore the original order.
• YAML Conversion:Convert JSON data to YAML format for configuration files and data exchange. Field order is preserved when converting to YAML.
• Validation:Detect syntax errors and display detailed error messages with line and column numbers.
• Indentation Options:Choose between 2, 3, 4 spaces, tab, or compact (no indent).
• Copy with Notification:Click any output field to copy results with visual feedback.
• Local Processing:All formatting and validation happens in your browser for privacy and speed.
• Order Preservation:All views (Formatted, Tree, Table, YAML) display fields in the exact order as your input JSON.

Input Format Example:

{
    "name": "Alice",
    "age": 30,
    "skills": [
        "Rust",
        "Yew"
    ]
}

💡 Common Use Cases

🌳 JSON Tree View Feature

The Tree View feature provides an interactive, hierarchical visualization of your JSON data structure. This powerful tool helps you understand complex JSON structures at a glance and navigate through nested objects and arrays with ease.

🎯 Key Features:

• Interactive Navigation:Click on any object or array node to expand or collapse its contents.
• Visual Type Indicators:Each data type has a unique icon for quick identification:
• 📁/📂 Objects: Folders (closed/open)
• 📋/📄 Arrays: Lists (closed/open)
• 📄 Strings: Document icon
• 🔢 Numbers: Number icon
• ✅/❌ Booleans: Checkbox icons
• ❓ Null: Question mark icon
• Path Information:Each node displays its JSON path (e.g., 'user.address.city') for easy reference.
• Size Indicators:Objects and arrays show their element count (e.g., '3 items') for quick assessment.
• Real-time Updates:Tree view updates automatically as you modify the JSON input.

📋 How to Use Tree View:

1. Enter or paste your JSON data in the input field.
2. Click the '🌳 Tree View' button to switch to tree visualization mode.
3. Click on any folder (📂) or list (📄) icon to expand that node.
4. Click again on an open folder (📁) or list (📋) to collapse it.
5. Navigate through the structure to understand your JSON hierarchy.
6. Click '📄 Formatted' to return to the traditional formatted view.

📂 root (3 items)
├── 📄 name: "Alice"
├── 🔢 age: 30
└── 📋 skills (2 items)
    ├── 📄 [0]: "Rust"
    └── 📄 [1]: "Yew"

📊 JSON Table View Feature

The Table View feature transforms JSON arrays of objects into interactive, sortable tables with advanced search and pagination capabilities. This powerful tool is perfect for analyzing structured data, comparing records, and exploring large datasets in a familiar spreadsheet-like interface.

🎯 Key Features:

• Interactive Sorting:Click any column header to sort data in ascending or descending order. Click again to reverse the sort direction, or click a third time to remove sorting.
• Real-time Search:Search across all columns simultaneously with case-insensitive matching. Results update instantly as you type.
• Smart Pagination:Navigate through large datasets with customizable page sizes (5, 10, 20, or 50 rows per page).
• Data Type Detection:Automatic detection and display of data types (string, number, boolean, object, array, null) for each column.
• Responsive Design:Table automatically adjusts height based on content, with horizontal scrolling for wide datasets.
• Search Result Statistics:Shows filtered result count and total records for better data understanding.

📋 How to Use Table View:

1. Enter or paste a JSON array of objects in the input field.
2. Select 'Table View' from the View Mode dropdown.
3. Use the search box to filter data across all columns.
4. Adjust 'Rows per page' to control how many records are displayed.
5. Click column headers to sort data by that column.
6. Use pagination controls to navigate through large datasets.
7. View data type information in column headers for better understanding.

[
  {
    "id": 1,
    "name": "Alice Johnson",
    "email": "alice@example.com",
    "age": 28,
    "active": true,
    "department": "Engineering"
  },
  {
    "id": 2,
    "name": "Bob Smith",
    "email": "bob@example.com",
    "age": 32,
    "active": false,
    "department": "Marketing"
  },
  {
    "id": 3,
    "name": "Carol Davis",
    "email": "carol@example.com",
    "age": 25,
    "active": true,
    "department": "Engineering"
  }
]

📚 Step-by-Step Tutorial

{
    "name": "Alice",
    "age": 30,
    "skills": [
        "Rust",
        "Yew"
    ]
}

📂 root (1 items)
└── 📁 user (3 items)
    ├── 🔢 id: 12345
    ├── 📁 profile (3 items)
    │   ├── 📄 name: "Alice"
    │   ├── 📄 email: "alice@example.com"
    │   └── 📁 preferences (2 items)
    │       ├── 📄 theme: "dark"
    │       └── ✅ notifications: true
    └── 📋 posts (2 items)
        ├── 📁 [0] (2 items)
        │   ├── 🔢 id: 1
        │   └── 📄 title: "First Post"
        └── 📁 [1] (2 items)
            ├── 🔢 id: 2
            └── 📄 title: "Second Post"

🔧 Technical Background

How JSON Formatting Works

The formatter parses the input string as JSON, then serializes it back with the chosen indentation. If the input is invalid, a detailed error message is shown with the line and column of the issue.

Why Use a JSON Formatter & Converter?

• Makes JSON easier to read and debug.
• Helps catch syntax errors before deploying or sharing data.
• Improves collaboration by providing consistent formatting.

Performance & Implementation

• Instant Feedback:Formatting and validation happen in your browser as you type.
• No Server Required:All processing is local for privacy and speed.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

🎯 Best Practices

• Validate Before Sharing:Always check your JSON for errors before using it in production or sharing with others.
• Error Handling:Handle invalid JSON gracefully in your applications.
• Performance:For very large files, use efficient parsing and formatting libraries.
• Documentation:Document your JSON structure and formatting conventions.
• Testing:Test with a variety of JSON structures, including edge cases and deeply nested data.
• Security Awareness:Never trust unvalidated JSON from untrusted sources.
• Tree View Usage:Use Tree View for complex JSON analysis, API response inspection, and data structure understanding. It's particularly helpful for debugging nested objects and arrays.
• Navigation Strategy:When using Tree View, start by expanding the root level, then systematically explore nested objects and arrays to understand the data hierarchy.
• Type Identification:Pay attention to the icons in Tree View to quickly identify data types and understand the structure of your JSON data.
• Path Awareness:Use the JSON paths displayed in Tree View to understand the exact location of data elements within your structure.
• Table View Usage:Use Table View for analyzing structured data, comparing records, and exploring datasets with multiple similar objects. It's particularly effective for user lists, product catalogs, and API response analysis.
• Data Preparation:Ensure your JSON is an array of objects for Table View. Each object should have consistent properties for the best table experience.
• Search Strategy:Use the search box to quickly filter data across all columns. Combine search with sorting to find specific patterns or outliers in your data.
• Pagination Management:Adjust 'Rows per page' based on your screen size and data complexity. Use smaller page sizes for detailed analysis and larger sizes for overview browsing.
• Sorting Best Practices:Use column sorting to identify patterns, find outliers, and organize data logically. Sort by numeric fields to find highest/lowest values, and by text fields for alphabetical organization.

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