What's the file size limit?

The API endpoint accepts up to 1 MB of JSON per request. For larger files, run the formatter locally: node -e "console.log(JSON.stringify(JSON.parse(require('fs').readFileSync('input.json','utf8')),null,2))"

Yes — enable the 'Sort keys' option to sort object keys alphabetically at every level of nesting. Array element order is always preserved because arrays are ordered by definition.

What happens to nested objects?

With flatten enabled (the default), nested objects are expanded using dot-notation keys. For example, {address: {city: 'London'}} becomes a column named 'address.city'. With flatten disabled, the nested object is JSON-stringified and placed in a single cell.

What if my CSV values contain commas or newlines?

The converter follows RFC 4180: values containing the delimiter, double quotes, or newlines are enclosed in double quotes, and any double quotes within the value are escaped as two consecutive double quotes. The CSV-to-JSON parser handles this correctly.

Tool comparison

JSON Formatter vs JSON to CSV Converter

JSON Formatter and JSON to CSV Converter are both formatting tools. They serve related purposes but are optimised for different tasks — understanding the distinction helps you choose the right one for your workflow.

Bottom line

JSON Formatter pretty-prints or minifies JSON without changing the data structure. JSON to CSV flattens a JSON array of objects into spreadsheet-compatible rows, changing both structure and format. Use JSON Formatter for readability and debugging; use JSON to CSV to export data to Excel or a database import.

What each tool does

JSON Formatter

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a lightweight text format for representing structured data using key-value pairs, arrays, strings, numbers, booleans, and null. It is the dominant data interchange format for REST APIs, configuration files, and data storage. A JSON formatter parses a JSON string and re-serializes it with consistent indentation and line breaks (pretty-print) to make it human-readable, or removes all whitespace (minify) to produce the smallest possible representation for transmission or storage. This tool goes further: it validates syntax and reports the exact line and column of any parse error, optionally sorts all object keys alphabetically for consistent diffs, and can repair common JSON-like inputs that are technically invalid — such as trailing commas, JavaScript-style comments, and single-quoted strings.

Open JSON Formatter →

JSON to CSV Converter

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) and CSV (Comma-Separated Values) are the two most common formats for exchanging tabular data. JSON is the native format for REST APIs, NoSQL databases, and JavaScript applications. CSV is the native format for spreadsheet tools like Excel and Google Sheets, SQL import utilities, data pipelines, and business reporting tools. Converting between them is one of the most frequent data engineering tasks: you might export an API response to a spreadsheet for analysis, import a CSV upload into a database, or transform a data warehouse export into JSON for an API. This tool converts a JSON array of objects to a CSV with a header row derived from the object keys, or parses a CSV back to a JSON array. Nested objects are optionally flattened using dot-notation keys (address.city) so the entire structure fits into a flat table.

Open JSON to CSV Converter →

Side-by-side comparison

Feature	JSON Formatter	JSON to CSV Converter
Category	formatting	formatting
Primary purpose	Pretty-print or minify JSON — with syntax validation.	Convert a JSON array of objects to CSV, or parse CSV back to JSON.
Inputs	json, mode, indent, sort_keys, repair	input, mode, delimiter, flatten
Outputs	output, valid, error, error_line, error_column	output, row_count, column_count, columns, mode, error

When to use each

Use JSON Formatter when…

How to pretty-print a JSON API response

Convert a minified or compact JSON API response into human-readable, indented output for inspection.

How to minify JSON for production

Remove all whitespace from a JSON file to reduce its size before embedding it in code, APIs, or config files.

Use JSON to CSV Converter when…

How to convert a JSON API response to a CSV spreadsheet

Export API data to a CSV file for analysis in Excel or Google Sheets.

How to convert a CSV file to JSON

Parse a CSV export from a database or spreadsheet into a JSON array for use in code.

Frequently asked questions

What's the file size limit?: The API endpoint accepts up to 1 MB of JSON per request. For larger files, run the formatter locally: node -e "console.log(JSON.stringify(JSON.parse(require('fs').readFileSync('input.json','utf8')),null,2))"
Does it sort keys?: Yes — enable the 'Sort keys' option to sort object keys alphabetically at every level of nesting. Array element order is always preserved because arrays are ordered by definition.
What happens to nested objects?: With flatten enabled (the default), nested objects are expanded using dot-notation keys. For example, {address: {city: 'London'}} becomes a column named 'address.city'. With flatten disabled, the nested object is JSON-stringified and placed in a single cell.
What if my CSV values contain commas or newlines?: The converter follows RFC 4180: values containing the delimiter, double quotes, or newlines are enclosed in double quotes, and any double quotes within the value are escaped as two consecutive double quotes. The CSV-to-JSON parser handles this correctly.