JSON Formatters in Technical Documentation Workflows

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is ubiquitous in modern technical documentation. It's used for API request/response examples, configuration file structures, data payload descriptions, and much more. However, raw JSON can be hard to read, especially when it's minified or inconsistently formatted. This is where JSON formatters come in.

This page explores the role of JSON formatters in technical documentation workflows, why they are crucial for both authors and readers, and how to integrate them effectively.

Why Format JSON in Documentation?

Consistent and well-formatted JSON examples significantly improve the quality and usability of technical documentation. Here's why:

• Readability: Properly indented and spaced JSON is easy for the human eye to parse, making it quicker for developers to understand the structure and data.
• Consistency: Ensures all JSON examples across your documentation adhere to the same style guide, reducing cognitive load for the reader.
• Accuracy & Validation: Many formatters also perform basic syntax validation. Formatting an invalid JSON string will typically fail, alerting the author to an error before the documentation is published.
• Copy-Paste Usability: Cleanly formatted JSON is less prone to errors when readers copy and paste it into their own code or tools.

Tools for Formatting JSON

Numerous tools are available to format JSON. The choice often depends on your workflow and preference.

Online Formatters

These are web-based tools where you paste JSON, and it provides formatted output. Useful for quick, manual formatting, but not suitable for automated workflows or sensitive data.

CLI Tools

Command-line tools are powerful for formatting single files or processing JSON in scripts. jq is a popular and versatile example.

{"name":"Alice","age":30,"isStudent":false,"courses":["Math","Science"]}

cat data.json | jq '.'

{
  "name": "Alice",
  "age": 30,
  "isStudent": false,
  "courses": [
    "Math",
    "Science"
  ]
}

IDE Extensions & Built-in Features

Most modern Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) and code editors (like VS Code, Sublime Text, WebStorm) have built-in or extension-based JSON formatters. These allow you to format JSON directly within the editor, often with a keyboard shortcut or on file save.

Library-based Formatting

If you are generating JSON programmatically for documentation (e.g., API responses generated by a script, or configuration examples), you can format it directly using libraries in your programming language. In JavaScript/TypeScript, the standard JSON.stringify() method offers formatting options.

const data = { name: "Bob", id: 123, active: true, tags: ["api", "user"] };

{"name":"Bob","id":123,"active":true,"tags":["api","user"]}

{
  "name": "Bob",
  "id": 123,
  "active": true,
  "tags": [
    "api",
    "user"
  ]
}

Integrating Formatting into Documentation Workflows

To ensure consistent formatting across large documentation projects and multiple contributors, automating the formatting process is highly recommended.

Pre-commit Hooks

A powerful approach is to use Git pre-commit hooks. These are scripts that run automatically before a commit is created. You can configure a hook to:

• Identify files containing JSON (e.g., *.json files, or code blocks within markdown/other formats).
• Run a CLI formatter (jq, prettier, etc.) on these files/blocks.
• If formatting changes occur, automatically stage those changes or fail the commit, prompting the author to review the formatted code.

CI/CD Pipelines

Integrate JSON formatting checks or automatic formatting into your Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) pipeline. This serves as a safety net to catch any formatting issues that might slip past pre-commit hooks.

• Linting/Checking: Add a step that runs a formatter in check mode (e.g., prettier --check). If any files are not correctly formatted, the build fails, alerting the team.
• Automatic Correction: Less common for documentation source files, but possible. The CI job could format the files and commit the changes back to the branch.

Conclusion

While seemingly a minor detail, the consistent and readable formatting of JSON examples is a significant factor in the quality and usability of technical documentation. Integrating JSON formatters into your documentation workflow, especially through automation via pre-commit hooks or CI/CD pipelines, is a best practice that saves time, reduces errors, and provides a better experience for your readers. Choose the tools that best fit your project's needs and automate the process wherever possible.