Tree view
The Tree view shows a document as a tree of objects, arrays, and values. It is the default view for JSON and NDJSON files. Each row is one node: an object member, an array element, or an NDJSON record.
Read a row
Section titled “Read a row”A row shows, from left to right:
- An arrow, for an object or array that has children.
- The key, for an object member, as
"key":. Array elements and NDJSON records have no key. {N}for an object with N members,[N]for an array with N elements, or the value itself, colored by type. Long values are shortened.- A badge when the value has a recognized format; see Value badges.
Hover over a row for two buttons on its right: Pin keeps the node in the Pins panel, and Copy value copies it.
An object or array with more than 4,096 children shows only the first 4,096, with a badge such as first 4,096 of 50,000 shown. See Very large objects and arrays.
Expand and collapse nodes
Section titled “Expand and collapse nodes”Click an object or array row to select it and expand or collapse it. With the keyboard, Right expands the selected row and Left collapses it or moves to its parent; see Keyboard shortcuts.
To expand more at once, use these commands from the Node menu or the row’s context menu:
| Command | Does |
|---|---|
| Expand from Here | Expands the node and everything inside it. Double-clicking the row does the same. |
| Expand to Level → 1 to 5 | Expands the whole document down to that depth. Level 1 shows the root’s children. Nodes already open deeper stay open. |
| Collapse All | Collapses the whole document, leaving only the root |
Expanding stops early on a very large document, and a notice says so.
Sort keys in the bar above the tree shows object keys in alphabetical order, ignoring case. You can also turn it on with View → Sort Keys Alphabetically. It changes only how the tree looks: the file, the table, search results, and copied JSON keep the original order. The setting applies to every tab and is kept between sessions.
Value badges
Section titled “Value badges”JSON Digger recognizes common formats in values and marks them with a badge. Hover over a badge to see more, such as a decoded value or a date in your time zone.
| Badge | Recognized value | Shows |
|---|---|---|
JSON |
A string that holds a JSON object or array | Right-click → Open Parsed Value opens it as a document |
JWT |
A JSON Web Token | The decoded header and payload |
UUID |
A UUID, with its version when it has one, such as UUID v4 |
|
EMAIL, URL |
An email address or an http or https address |
The value as a link |
URL-ENC |
URL-encoded text, such as name%20here |
The decoded text |
COLOR |
A CSS color such as #ff8800, rgb(), or hsl() |
A color swatch |
IPv4, IPv6 |
An IP address | |
DATE |
An ISO 8601 date or date and time | The local date and time next to the value, and how long ago it was |
UNIX, UNIX-MS |
A Unix time in seconds (10 digits) or milliseconds (13 digits), between 1970 and 2100 | The local date and time |
PHONE |
A phone number | |
PATH |
A file path such as C:\data\a.json or /var/log/app.log |
|
BASE64, BASE64URL, BASE64 JSON |
Base64 text that decodes to readable text, or to JSON | The decoded text, with JSON indented |
A long string, such as a long token, gets no badge in the tree. Select it and open the Properties panel to decode it, or right-click it and choose Copy Decoded Value.
Select nodes
Section titled “Select nodes”Click a row to select it. The breadcrumb bar, the Properties panel, and the node commands follow the selected node.
To select more than one node, Ctrl+click rows to add or remove them, or Shift+click to select a range. Ctrl+A selects the rows on screen, and Esc clears the selection. The bar above the tree shows how many items are selected, with these buttons:
- Copy selected copies the JSON of each selected node, one per line, up to 1,000 nodes and 50 MiB; see Limits.
- Clear selection clears it.
With exactly two nodes selected, press Ctrl+Shift+D (Diff Selected Nodes) to compare them in the Compare view.
Switching to another view clears the selection.
Minimap
Section titled “Minimap”The minimap is the strip on the right of the tree. It draws the structure of the whole document, colored by type, with marks for search matches and highlighters. A box shows the part of the tree on screen. Click or drag in the minimap to scroll there.
To hide it, turn off Minimap in the bar above the tree. The setting applies to every tab.
Breadcrumb navigation
Section titled “Breadcrumb navigation”The breadcrumb bar above the tree shows the path to the selected node, starting at $. Click a part of the path to select that node. The arrows on the right move to the previous or next sibling. The bar is hidden while the root is selected.
NDJSON records
Section titled “NDJSON records”In an NDJSON file, the root is an array of the file’s records, expanded when the file opens. Records have no key, and a line that is not valid JSON shows an invalid line badge with its text. See NDJSON and Text views.