JSON Viewer

How to use the JSON Viewer

1. Paste one JSON value or choose a local text file containing JSON.
2. Select Explore JSON. If parsing fails, correct the reported input location.
3. Open an object or array using its summary. Expand all and Collapse all change the whole tree.
4. Search for part of a key, value or path. Ancestor containers remain visible so you can see where a match belongs.
5. Copy or download the formatted JSON below the tree. Search only filters the view; it never removes data from the exported document.

What the tree tells you

Objects group named members; arrays group items by position. Each container shows its type and direct child count. Leaves display the original JSON value, including quotation marks around strings. This makes a string such as "12" distinguishable from the number 12, and a literal null distinguishable from an empty string.

Every item also displays a JSON Pointer. An empty pointer identifies the whole document. Array positions start at zero. A slash within a property name becomes ~1, and a tilde becomes ~0, so unusual keys do not produce ambiguous paths. These are JSON Pointers, not executable JavaScript expressions or JSONPath queries.

How JSON viewing preserves values

The viewer uses UtilityPilot’s existing JSON syntax-tree parser. It does not convert every numeric token into a floating-point JavaScript number. For example, 9007199254740993 remains exactly that token in the tree and download. Member order and escaped string spelling also remain available in the formatted output.

Duplicate object keys are rejected instead of silently retaining one value. The parser accepts a top-level object, array, string, number, boolean or null. Comments, trailing commas and JavaScript property shorthand are not strict JSON. This is syntax checking, not validation against a business schema.

A nested JSON example

{"user":{"name":"Ada"},"roles":["reader","editor"]}

/user/name → "Ada"
/roles/0 → "reader"
/roles/1 → "editor"

Search for editor to retain the matching leaf and its ancestors. Search for /roles to inspect paths within that array. Copy result still includes the user object and both role values. Searching does not execute regular expressions and is case-insensitive.

Common problems and limits

If an API response begins with an HTML error page, it cannot be opened as JSON. Check the response body before changing quotes or commas. If parsing points near the end, inspect an earlier unclosed bracket or string. The viewer does not repair malformed documents automatically because a guessed repair could change meaning.

The viewer accepts up to 1 MiB and 3,000 values, with at most 50 nesting levels. These limits bound both parsing and the rendered tree. A document over the value limit is rejected as a whole, not shown as an apparently complete partial tree. For a larger valid document that only needs indentation, use JSON Formatter. No remote URL fetching, in-place tree editing or schema evaluation is offered.

Choose the next JSON operation

Use JSON Compare to find changes between two responses without treating key reordering as a change. Use JSON to CSV when an array of objects needs a table; inspect nested values before flattening. Viewing a document is useful for exploration, while conversion changes its representation for another application.

Processing and privacy

The operation runs in your browser. The tool does not send the material you enter to a processing server or automatically save it. Reset clears the form and result from the interface; it is not a secure-erasure guarantee for browser memory. Copy and download deliberately create copies outside the tool. The website itself still makes ordinary requests for its pages and scripts. See the privacy policy for the distinction.

Frequently asked questions