JSON Viewer vs JSON Formatter
While a JSON formatter shows formatted text, a JSON viewer presents the same data as an interactive, collapsible tree. This is especially valuable for deeply nested JSON (5+ levels deep) where even formatted text is difficult to navigate.
Tree Viewer Navigation
- Click ▼ to expand a node and see child properties
- Click ▶ to collapse a node and hide its subtree
- Collapsed nodes show a preview:
{ id: 1, name: ... } - Array nodes show item count:
[42 items]
Browser Extension vs Online JSON Viewer
Chrome and Firefox JSON viewer extensions auto-render JSON URLs in your browser's address bar. Our online viewer is better when you need to:
- View JSON that was sent as a POST body (not a URL)
- Edit and re-view the JSON after making changes
- Search within the JSON for a specific key or value
- Handle large JSON files without browser tab memory limits