About JSON Key Sorter
This JSON key sorter puts the keys of every object in alphabetical order, at every level of nesting, and formats the result with the indent you choose. It is free, needs no sign-up and runs in your browser, so nothing you enter is uploaded.
Sorted keys make two JSON documents easy to compare. Two API responses with the same data can list keys in a different order, which makes a text diff noisy. Sort both with the same settings and the diff shows only real changes. It is also a tidy way to store config files and fixtures in version control.
Only object keys move. Arrays keep their order, because the order of items in an array is part of the data. Objects inside arrays are sorted too. So {"b":1,"a":{"d":1,"c":2}} becomes an object with a first, and c before d inside it.
Keys are ordered by plain character code, not by locale, so capital letters come before lower case, and accented letters come after z. One JavaScript quirk to know: keys that look like whole numbers, such as 9 and 10, always come first in numeric order, whatever is done to the rest. {"b":1,"a":[3,2,1],"B":2,"10":1,"9":2} sorts to 9, 10, B, a and b.
How to use JSON Key Sorter
- Paste your JSON into the box. The tool checks it as you type and shows Valid JSON or the error.
- Choose a tab: Format to pretty-print, Minify to remove whitespace, Validate to check only, Sort keys to order the keys, Tree to browse, Escape to make or read a JSON string, or To CSV for a table.
- For Format and Sort keys, choose the indent: 2 spaces, 4 spaces or Tab.
- If you see Invalid JSON at line and column, go to that position. For a common mistake, press Auto-fix and check the result.
- In Tree, open and close branches, and click a key to copy its JSON path, such as $.users[0].name.
- Use Copy to take the output, or Download to save it as a .json file (a .csv file for To CSV).
Features
- Pretty-print with 2 spaces, 4 spaces or tabs.
- Minify to a single line with no extra whitespace.
- Validation that reports the line, the column and a plain-English message for the first error.
- Auto-fix for single quotes, unquoted keys, trailing commas and comments. The button only appears when the repaired text is valid.
- Tree view with collapsible branches, item counts and one-click copy of the JSON path of any key.
- Sort keys alphabetically at every level, without changing array order.
- Escape and unescape a JSON string. Unescape reads Unicode escapes, including emoji pairs.
- JSON to CSV for an array of objects, with the union of all keys as the header.
- Copy and Download of the result.
- All processing happens in your browser tab, with no server round trip.
Worked examples
{"b":2,"a":{"d":1,"c":[{"z":1,"y":2}]}}, indent 2 gives { "a": { "c": [ { "y": 2, "z": 1 } ], "d": 1 }, "b": 2 }
Keys are sorted at every level, including the object inside the array.
{"b":1,"a":[3,2,1],"B":2,"10":1,"9":2} gives {"9":2,"10":1,"B":2,"a":[3,2,1],"b":1}
Whole-number keys come first, then B, then a and b. The array [3,2,1] is not reordered.
Privacy: how it works
- Your JSON is processed by code in your browser tab. Nothing is sent to Ulkaa or to any other server, which you can confirm in the Network tab of your browser developer tools.
- API responses, config files and database exports often contain tokens, emails and personal data, so a formatter that does not upload them is the safe kind to paste into.
Tips
- Fix the first error only, then look again. Later errors often vanish, because one missing quote can make everything after it look wrong.
- Sort the keys of two JSON files with the same settings before you compare them. A text diff then shows only the real differences.
- Use the Tree view to find a path, then copy it. That is quicker than counting brackets in a long response.
- To put text with quotes and line breaks into a JSON field, paste it in Escape and copy the result between the quotation marks.
Frequently asked questions
Is it really free?
Yes. There is no price, no trial and no credit card. Ulkaa Tool does the work with your own device, so there is no server bill to pass on to you.
Do I need an account?
No. There is no sign-up and no login. Open the page and use it. An Ulkaa account is not needed for anything on this tool.
Does it run in my browser?
Yes. Your JSON are processed by code running in your browser tab, on your own device.
Is my data uploaded?
No. Your JSON are never sent to Ulkaa or to anyone else. You can check this yourself by watching the Network tab in your browser developer tools while you use the tool.
Does sorting keys change the meaning of JSON?
No. The order of keys in a JSON object has no meaning to the standard. Applications that depend on key order are the exception. Arrays are not reordered.
Why do capital letters sort before lower case?
Keys are sorted by character code, where A to Z come before a to z. It is predictable and the same on every machine.
Does it sort in descending order?
No. Keys are sorted from A to Z only.
More JSON Formatter and Validator pages
- JSON Formatter and ValidatorFormat, minify and validate JSON, find errors by line and column, browse it as a tree, and fix common mistakes in one click.
- JSON ValidatorCheck that your JSON is valid and find the first error by line and column.
- JSON MinifierRemove the extra whitespace from JSON to make it smaller.
- JSON BeautifierPretty-print JSON so it is easy to read.
- JSON ViewerExplore JSON as a collapsible tree and copy the path of any value.
- JSON LintLint your JSON, find the error, and fix the usual mistakes.
- JSON Escape and UnescapeEscape quotes, backslashes and line breaks for JSON, or turn an escaped string back into plain text.
- JSON to CSV ConverterTurn a JSON array of objects into a CSV table you can open in a spreadsheet.