Question 1

What happens if my JSON has a syntax error?

Accepted Answer

You get the line and column, plus the line itself with a caret under the exact character, instead of just "Unexpected token at position 412". Long or minified lines are windowed around the error so the caret stays on screen.

Question 2

What does the minify option do?

Accepted Answer

It removes every space, tab and line break between tokens, which is what you want before putting JSON in a config value, an environment variable, or a request body where size matters. The data is identical; only the formatting is gone.

Question 3

Why does my tsconfig.json fail to parse everywhere else but work here?

Accepted Answer

Because strict JSON allows neither comments nor a comma before a closing brace, while tsconfig.json and most editor config files use both. When the real parser refuses, this tool retries with those two ignored and tells you what it skipped. Comments aren't part of JSON, so they don't survive into the output.

Question 4

I pasted a log line and got back one long string. What now?

Accepted Answer

Services often log JSON encoded inside a JSON string, so what you pasted is a valid string that happens to contain a document. When that's detected you get an "Unwrap it" button that replaces the input with the JSON inside, escapes resolved.

Question 5

What is Sort keys A–Z for?

Accepted Answer

Comparing two API responses that hold the same data in a different key order. Sorted the same way, the diff shows only real changes. Array order is left alone, since in an array the order is part of the data.

Question 6

Can I format a .json file instead of pasting it?

Accepted Answer

Drop the file on the input box or use the import button, and download the result when you're done, so a large API dump or lock file never has to go through the clipboard. Files up to 2 MB are accepted, and the download keeps the original name with .formatted or .min added.

Question 7

What do the stats above the output mean?

Accepted Answer

When the JSON parses, you get its root type, how many object keys and array items it holds in total, how deeply it nests, and the size of the output. The depth number is the useful one when an API response is nested more than you expected.

Question 8

Does this validate JSON Schema, or just JSON syntax?

Accepted Answer

Just syntax. It checks that your JSON is well-formed and parseable, not that it matches a particular schema or structure.

Question 9

Is my JSON data uploaded to a server?

Accepted Answer

No, parsing and formatting happen entirely in your browser using JavaScript's built-in JSON parser; nothing is sent anywhere.

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