JSON Format Guide

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a lightweight text format used for data exchange between systems. It is human-readable, language-independent, and widely used in APIs.

JSON Structure Basics

JSON is made of key-value pairs and ordered lists:

Objects use curly braces: { }
Arrays use square brackets: [ ]
Keys must be in double quotes: "name"
String values must be in double quotes: "value"

Supported Data Types

String
Number
Boolean (true / false)
Null (null)
Object
Array

Valid JSON Example

{
  "id": 42,
  "name": "Ada",
  "isActive": true,
  "skills": ["Rust", "TypeScript", "SQL"],
  "profile": {
    "country": "US",
    "timezone": "UTC-5"
  },
  "manager": null
}

Common JSON Mistakes

Using single quotes instead of double quotes
Leaving a trailing comma at the end of object or array items
Using comments (JSON does not support comments)
Unquoted object keys

Best Practices

Use consistent key naming (for example, camelCase)
Keep nested depth reasonable for readability
Validate and format JSON before saving or sending in APIs
Prefer UTF-8 encoding and standard schema documentation for large payloads

For the formal specification, read RFC 7159: The JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) Data Interchange Format.

Need to clean up a payload quickly? Go back to the JSON Formatter page.