How to Open a JSON File on Windows, macOS, Linux, and the Web

A .json file is a plain-text document, so you can open it with any text editor. A code editor or JSON viewer is usually better because it adds syntax highlighting, formatting, folding, and error detection.

For a quick check, open JSONLint, paste the file contents, and validate them. Do not paste files containing passwords, API keys, personal records, or other sensitive data into any online tool.

Fastest Ways to Open a JSON File

Goal	Recommended option
Read a small file	VS Code, Notepad++, TextEdit in plain-text mode
Validate syntax	JSONLint Validator
Explore nested data	JSON Tree Viewer
View an array as rows	JSON to Table
Inspect from a terminal	jq, Python, or PowerShell
Process a very large file	Streaming command-line tool or application code

Open JSON on Windows

Use a Code Editor

1. Right-click the .json file.
2. Choose Open with.
3. Select Visual Studio Code or Notepad++.
4. To make it the default, choose Choose another app and enable Always.

Windows Notepad can display JSON, but a code editor provides clearer indentation and highlights matching brackets.

Use PowerShell

Pretty-print a JSON file:

Get-Content .\data.json -Raw |
  ConvertFrom-Json |
  ConvertTo-Json -Depth 100

ConvertFrom-Json parses the file, so it will also reveal invalid syntax.

Open JSON on macOS

Use Finder

1. Control-click the file.
2. Choose Open With.
3. Select Visual Studio Code, BBEdit, or TextEdit.

If you use TextEdit, ensure the document is treated as plain text rather than rich text.

Use Terminal

Python can validate and format the file:

python3 -m json.tool data.json

Or use jq when installed:

jq . data.json

Open JSON on Linux

Most desktop editors and code editors can open JSON directly. From a terminal:

less data.json
jq . data.json
python3 -m json.tool data.json

Use less for viewing, jq for querying and formatting, and python3 -m json.tool for a dependency-free validation check when Python is available.

Open JSON in a Web Browser

You can drag a local JSON file into a browser window or use File → Open. Browser behavior varies: some display raw text, some format JSON, and some download the file depending on the response headers.

For JSON served by a website, the server should normally send:

Content-Type: application/json

The JSON Formatter for Chrome adds a formatted tree view for JSON responses opened in Chrome.

Format Minified JSON

A one-line file is still valid JSON, but it is difficult to inspect:

{"users":[{"id":1,"name":"Ada"},{"id":2,"name":"Grace"}]}

Use JSON Formatter, jq, or Python:

jq . data.json > formatted.json
python3 -m json.tool data.json formatted.json

Keep the original until you have verified the formatted output.

Open Large JSON Files

Desktop editors can become slow when they must parse and render hundreds of megabytes. Avoid loading a very large file into an online tool or a browser tab.

Start by checking its size and structure:

wc -c large.json
head -c 500 large.json
jq -r 'type' large.json

Then stream or select only the data you need:

jq -c '.items[]' large.json | head

If the file contains one JSON value per line, it may be JSON Lines or NDJSON rather than one JSON array. See JSON Lines and NDJSON.

Edit JSON Safely

• Keep keys and string values in double quotes.
• Remove trailing commas and comments unless the format is explicitly JSONC.
• Preserve UTF-8 encoding.
• Validate after every manual change.
• Use version control or a backup for configuration files.
• Do not reorder keys if another system incorrectly depends on their textual order.

Use JSON Diff to review changes between two versions.

Common Problems

“This File Is Not Valid JSON”

The file may contain a missing delimiter, comments, multiple concatenated values, or truncated content. Start with the JSON Parse Error guide.

The File Contains Comments

It may be JSONC. Standard JSON parsers reject comments; convert it using JSONC to JSON.

The File Shows Strange Characters

Reopen it as UTF-8. A byte-order mark or a different source encoding can also cause parse errors.

The File Has No .json Extension

An extension is a convention, not proof of content. Inspect the first characters and the content type. A valid JSON document can also be a string, number, boolean, or null—not only an object or array.

Frequently Asked Questions

What program opens JSON files?

Any plain-text editor can open JSON. Visual Studio Code and similar code editors are more convenient because they understand JSON syntax.

Can Excel open JSON?

Modern Excel versions can import JSON through Power Query. For a quick conversion, use JSON to Excel or JSON to CSV.

Can I open JSON on a phone?

Yes. A text editor, code-viewer app, browser, or online validator can display it. Avoid uploading sensitive files.

Related Tools

• JSON Validator
• JSON Formatter
• JSON Tree Viewer
• JSON Path Finder
• JSON to Table