.json · application/json

What is a .json file?

JSON Document

About the format

A .json file is structured data in JavaScript Object Notation — the curly-brace format that has become the default data language of the modern software world: configuration files (VS Code settings, package.json in every JavaScript project), API payloads saved to disk, exports from countless tools, and the interchange format this site's own knowledge bases use. It's plain text, so any editor opens it; the strictness is the only trap for editors-by-hand. Real JSON requires double quotes around keys and strings, commas between items but NOT after the last one, and no comments — three rules that cause almost every 'unexpected token' error when someone tweaks a config file. A JSON validator (or an editor like VS Code that underlines mistakes live) turns those from mysteries into typos. JSON files contain no executable code; the impact of editing one is whatever the consuming program does with the values.

How to open a .json file

Windows

any text editor
VS Code (live validation)
PowerShell ConvertFrom-Json

macOS

any text editor
jq

Linux

any text editor
jq

Is a .json file dangerous?

No — pure data text.

Related file types

.xml .ini .csv

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