44,269 stars · Apache-2.0 — LICENSE.md was opened directly on 2026-09-25 and is the standard text, 'Copyright 2025 Aykut Sarac', with no added condition · v5.0.0 (2026-03-11), read from /releases/latest and confirmed by ungh · Track this in Scout
It draws a JSON, YAML, XML or CSV file as a diagram you can zoom around and search.
▶Repo detailsthe review · specs · pros & cons · install
What it is
JSON Crack renders structured data as a node graph in the browser. It handles JSON, YAML, XML, CSV and TOML, offers search across the graph, and can convert between those formats or generate a schema from a sample.
What it is good for. Anybody handed a large configuration file or an unfamiliar API response and asked what is in it. Reading nested data as text means holding the shape in your head; seeing it drawn means not having to.
- Apache-2.0, read from the LICENSE file. Its own words in the README are that all data processing is local and nothing is stored on their servers.
- It reads several formats, so it also works as a converter between them.
- It can be run on your own machine with Docker, which is the answer when the file contains anything you cannot paste into a website.
- Very large files will make a browser struggle. A graph with tens of thousands of nodes is slow to draw whatever machine you are on.
- The last tagged release is v5.0.0 of 11 March 2026, and code last landed on 15 June 2026. It is a stable tool rather than a fast-moving one.
- It shows and it converts. It does not edit a file in place or validate against a schema you supply, so it sits beside your editor rather than replacing it.
- antonmedv/fx
20,641 stars, does the same exploring in a terminal rather than a browser, which suits a server with no screen.
Track this in Scout - jqlang/jq
35,558 stars, the standard command-line tool for pulling values out of JSON; it queries rather than draws, and it has a language to learn.
Track this in Scout - ynqa/jnv
6,117 stars, an interactive terminal filter that shows the result of a jq expression as you type it.
Track this in Scout
# use it with nothing installed # open https://jsoncrack.com/editor in a browser # or run it on your own machine git clone https://github.com/AykutSarac/jsoncrack.com.git cd jsoncrack.com docker build -t jsoncrack . docker run -p 8888:8080 jsoncrack # then open http://localhost:8888
