Readable JSON: format it, then find the broken line

Turn a wall of JSON into something you can read — and find the real mistake when it won’t parse.

Minified JSON is great for machines and hard for people. Formatting puts one value per line, so you can see the shape of the data at a glance.

Before — minified

{"room":"two-sum-interview","people":[{"name":"Maya","role":"owner"},{"name":"Arjun","role":"edit"}],"kept":false}

After — formatted with 2 spaces

{
  "room": "two-sum-interview",
  "people": [
    {
      "name": "Maya",
      "role": "owner"
    },
    {
      "name": "Arjun",
      "role": "edit"
    }
  ],
  "kept": false
}

Find the broken line

When JSON won’t parse, the error usually points at the line after the real mistake. The most common cause is a missing comma at the end of the line before.

Error on line 3 — the fix is on line 2

{
  "language": "javascript"
  "kept": false
}

Tip: Paste it into the JSON formatter. It shows the line and column where reading stopped, so you know exactly where to look.

Ask for help with the data, not a screenshot

If you need someone to look, share it from the formatter into a private room. They’ll see the same formatted JSON, can point at a line, and you can fix it together.