Debugging APIs: How to validate, format and minify JSON files without errors

The JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) format is the ubiquitous standard for data exchange on the modern web. Despite its simplicity, JSON has extremely strict syntactic rules that prevent parsers from reading the information if there is even the slightest error.

Basic rules that break your JSON

When building or debugging configuration files or API payloads, you must take care of the syntax:

• Required Quotes: Both keys and strings must be enclosed in double quotes (`"`). Single quotes (`'`) are not valid in JSON.
• No Trailing Commas: Leaving a comma at the end of a list or object before the closure would cause a fatal error in most languages.
• Correct Data Types: Ensure that booleans and numbers do not have quotes so as not to convert them into plain text.

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