JSON Atlas

JSON Atlas keeps your JSON documents healthy by surfacing syntax errors in-line, visualizing the structure in multiple modes, and layering on AI summaries plus chat assistance.

If you live in JSON every day, JSON Atlas is the teammate that never gets tired. It catches parser mistakes before you switch windows, maps huge payloads into an interactive visual graph, and keeps schemas honest with one-click insights. Pair that with inline AI summaries, diffable schema proposals, and a workspace-wide health report, and you get a workflow upgrade that saves minutes on every edit while preserving trust in your APIs.

Features

• Real-time linting for json and jsonc documents using the jsonc-parser, with inline diagnostics that point directly to the faulty token.
• Optional schema validation powered by Ajv. Point the extension at a JSON Schema file to receive rich, property-level diagnostics.
• Schema-aware navigation whenever validation is enabled: every node in the visualizer surfaces a Schema action that jumps straight to the matching definition inside your JSON Schema, complete with the title/description tooltip. Hover inside the JSON editor (or use the inline CodeLens) to see the schema title/description and jump via JSON Atlas: Go to Schema Definition.
• Schema Insights view (next to the Summary panel) lists missing required props, type mismatches, and other validation issues, with one-click focus in the visualizer or jump-to-editor actions.
• Visualizer view that turns a valid JSON tree into a tidy, zoom-independent overview so you can reason about large payloads at a glance and now auto-refreshes as you type. Every depth level becomes its own collapsible box with a key-to-value link, so you can fold away branches while keeping the surrounding context visible.
• Graph & Tree modes selectable via the view dropdown: the Graph view offers pan/zoom with smooth connectors, while the Tree view keeps a classic outline for folks who prefer a stacked hierarchy. Both modes keep URL values clickable.
• Focus modes & schema badges so you can filter to required nodes, schema warnings, or dense arrays while deprecated/read-only values get inline badges for instant triage.
• Graph layout presets (compact, balanced, relaxed) that you can switch from the control dock or via jsonAtlas.graphLayoutPreset, adjusting spacing/line lengths without rebuilding the document.
• Inline rename: click any key label in either view to rename the underlying property and apply the edit directly to the JSON document.
• Draggable layout in Graph mode so you can rearrange nodes to highlight the relationships you care about; per-document positions persist between renders.
• Instant search & pan: use the visualizer “Find” box to jump to any key/value (including array items) and automatically center the corresponding node.
• Built-in AI assistant: chat with your JSON, stream responses, and apply suggested edits directly from the webview once you provide an API key.
• AI schema proposals: run JSON Atlas: Generate AI Schema Updates to have the AI inspect the active document plus its schema, propose changes (new enums/constraints), review diffs, and apply updates safely.
• Command palette & editor title entry to trigger the visualization beside the active editor.

Usage

1. Open any JSON/JSONC document. Diagnostics update automatically while you edit.
2. Once the document is valid, run JSON Atlas: Show Visualizer (command palette) or use the editor title button.
3. A webview opens beside the editor showing the hierarchical structure with metadata such as object property counts and array lengths. Keep editing—the view refreshes automatically whenever the JSON stays valid.
4. Use the view dropdown to switch between Graph and Tree modes. In Graph, drag the canvas (or scroll to zoom), reposition individual nodes to create your own layout, and click URL values; in Tree, collapse/expand inline branches while keeping the surrounding context visible.
5. Type into the Find box to locate any key or value; the graph view centers the matching node immediately (arrays are searched by parent label and value).
6. Open AI Chat in the toolbar, set your API key via JSON Atlas: Set AI API Key, and hold multi-turn conversations. Streamed answers can include ready-to-apply JSON snippets.
7. Click a key label to rename that property. A VS Code input box appears so you can confirm the new name, and the JSON text updates immediately afterward. Enable jsonAtlas.autoSaveOnEdit if you want the extension to save the document automatically after the rename.

Schema validation

Set the following settings (Workspace recommended):

• jsonAtlas.enableSchemaValidation: true
• (optional) jsonAtlas.schemas: array of { pattern, schema } mappings if you want to hardwire globs to schema files.
• jsonAtlas.autoSaveOnEdit: set to true if you want JSON Atlas to save the JSON document automatically whenever you rename a key from the visualizer.
• jsonAtlas.graphAutoScale: enable to let JSON Atlas pick an initial graph zoom level based on how large the document is.
• jsonAtlas.graphInitialScale: when auto scaling is disabled, this numeric zoom (0.4–1.2) becomes the starting scale for the graph view.
• Run JSON Atlas: Set AI API Key (stored securely) to unlock AI chat and the JSON Atlas: Summarize JSON command.
• For local testing, open samples/sample.json and run JSON Atlas: Associate Schema to bind it to samples/sample.schema.json (or add a jsonAtlas.schemas entry). The $schema property, VS Code json.schemas, and Atlas associations are all honored automatically.
• jsonAtlas.visualizerExcludeGlobs: glob array that skips auto-opening the visualizer for matching files (defaults to ["**/*.schema.json", "**/schemas/**"] so schema documents remain manual).
• jsonAtlas.insightExcludeGlobs: glob array (defaults to ["**/.vscode/**", "**/*.schema.json"]) that suppresses Schema Insight updates for matching files while still showing editor diagnostics.

When enabled, the extension loads/compiles the schema with Ajv and surfaces additional diagnostics alongside the syntax errors.