Nouto JSON Explorer

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A JSON exploration tool for Visual Studio Code. Open any JSON, JSONL, or NDJSON file, or paste JSON from your clipboard, and navigate it as a collapsible tree or a table. Includes search, JSONPath filtering, a query filter language, compare/diff, JSON Schema validation, type generation, statistics, a minimap, bookmarks, pinned nodes, timestamp detection, embedded JSON detection, multi-select, recent files, and copy support in eight formats.

Features

Tree View

• Browse JSON as a collapsible node tree with key, type, and value displayed for each node
• A breadcrumb bar tracks your position as you navigate into nested objects
• Pin nodes for quick access from the bookmark panel
• Sort object keys alphabetically with a toolbar toggle; the original key order in the document is untouched
• Right-click any object or array and choose Open Subtree in New Tab to explore it in its own panel

Table View

• View arrays of objects as a table, with each key as a column
• Column sorting (click a header), column resizing (drag the resize handle or double-click to auto-fit), and user-toggleable per-column pinning
• Timestamp hints in cells for recognized Unix and ISO 8601 date values
• CSV export button in the table toolbar
• Large arrays load in pages of 50 rows, with a button to load more

Advanced Features

Search and filtering

• Fuzzy search: filter the tree by key or value as you type, with a history of past searches
• JSONPath filtering: enter a JSONPath expression to show only matching nodes, with a built-in reference panel
• Query filter: filter array items with a field comparison language (age > 30 AND name contains "john") supporting =, !=, >, <, >=, <=, regex (~), contains, startsWith, endsWith, with AND/OR/NOT combinators and a built-in reference panel

Compare

• Diff the loaded document against a second JSON document pasted into the compare dialog or picked from disk with the Choose file... button
• Summary bar showing added, removed, changed, and unchanged counts with per-node change indicators

JSON Schema validation

• Paste a JSON Schema into the schema panel to validate the loaded document
• Failing nodes are marked in the tree; the panel lists each violation with its path and message, and clicking one jumps to the node
• Clearing the schema removes all marks

JSONL / NDJSON

• Open .jsonl and .ndjson files; each line becomes one array element and blank lines are skipped
• A malformed line reports an error with its line number

Embedded JSON detection

• String values that contain a JSON object or array show an inline JSON badge
• Right-click a badged row and choose Open Embedded JSON in New Tab to explore the parsed value

Generate types

• Produce type definitions from the whole document or a selected node in TypeScript, Zod, Rust, Go, Python, or JSON Schema

Statistics

• Key, object, array, depth, and value counts with a type distribution breakdown, array and string length stats, and a unique key list

Minimap

• Canvas overview of the document with a viewport indicator and click-to-scroll, shown for documents with more than 20 visible nodes

Pinned nodes

• Pin nodes from the row hover button or context menu into an always-visible strip with live value previews, separate from the bookmarks panel and persisted across sessions

Timestamp detection

• Unix seconds, Unix milliseconds, and ISO 8601 values show an inline formatted date hint and hover tooltip in tree rows and table cells

Multi-select

• Ctrl/Cmd+click to toggle, Shift+click for a range, Ctrl+A to select all visible, Escape to clear
• Bulk copy and bookmark actions in the context menu when multiple nodes are selected

Bookmarks and copy

• Bookmark any node and jump back to it from the bookmarks panel
• Copy the current document, selected node, or multi-selection as formatted JSON, minified JSON, YAML, CSV, TypeScript, Python, PHP array, or Markdown table (CSV and Markdown table appear for arrays only)
• Save to file as JSON, YAML, or CSV via the native VS Code save dialog

Opening JSON Files

From the file explorer: Right-click any .json, .jsonl, or .ndjson file and select Open with JSON Explorer.

From the editor: Right-click inside an open JSON file and select Open with JSON Explorer, or click the JSON Explorer icon in the editor title bar.

From anywhere on disk: Click the folder icon in the JSON Explorer sidebar or run Nouto JSON Explorer: Open JSON File from Disk from the Command Palette. This works for files outside the current workspace.

From the clipboard: Copy any JSON text from a browser, terminal, API response, or any other source. Open the JSON Explorer sidebar and click Paste JSON.

From a URL: Click Fetch from URL... in the JSON Explorer sidebar (or run Nouto JSON Explorer: Fetch JSON from URL from the Command Palette), enter an endpoint that returns JSON, and click Fetch. Optional custom request headers (e.g. API keys) can be added in the form; header values are stored securely in the operating system keychain, never in plaintext. Fetched URLs appear in the recent files list and re-fetch fresh data when clicked. Requests are GET-only - for full REST client features, use Nouto.

Sidebar

The JSON Explorer sidebar keeps a list of recently opened files. Click any entry to reopen it. Hover over an entry to reveal a remove button.

The sidebar title bar has three icon buttons:

Settings

Limitations

• Files larger than 20 MB are not supported and will open in the default text editor instead.
• The extension does not modify files. All edits must be made in a text editor.

Requirements

Visual Studio Code 1.74.0 or later.

License

Copyright (c) 2026 FrostyBee.

Nouto JSON Explorer is licensed under the MIT License.