Files are lightweight, human-readable, text-based, and editable with a text editor. Although there are many apps that use them for data exchange, these files may not be saved on the hard drive themselves since the exchange occurs between computers that are connected to the Internet. However, there are applications that allow save .json files.
What’s more, MozillaFirefox saves backup copies of your bookmarks using JSON files. These are saved in the user’s profile directory in the folder bookmark backups. You can also make your own backups in the Bookmarks Library, in import/export and then select Restore to later Choose File and select a JSON backup file.
How to open these files depending on the operating system
If you are thinking of looking for the best way to open this formatThe first thing you should consider is where you are going to do it. You may prefer to do it on your computer because it is more comfortable, or because it is there, or you may prefer to do it from your mobile. In any case, we show you the different ways to do it from your operating system.
on Windows
on Windows some programs that can open files of this type are GNU Emacs, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft WordPad, Microsoft Excel, Notepad++, Altova XMLSpy, TatukGIS Viewer and GDevelop, although there are more.
For this reason, we will tell you how to open them in some of the main programs that you may already have on your computer, although the most common is to have or download the program, open it and open a new file from there. If it doesn’t appear, see if there is a dropdown that has certain formats configured by default and change it to All the files there. If you open it directly from the program, you can set it to open later from there.
Windows Notepad
With the memo pad of Windows you will be able to open this type of files since, although it is a simple text editor is compatible with it. These are plain plain text files. It maintains the source format in regards to the order of files and the source with which it was created.
To open a file you just have to open the program and search for and access the option archive. Then you give to to open and locate the file you want to consult. If it does not appear, where you see the extensions, put all the files. You can also make modifications, although it is best that you only do it if you know what you are doing or if you save a backup copy beforehand.
Windows WordPad
This simpler Windows program than the company’s office suite has interesting features including compatibility with different file formats. With these it is also possible. To open one you must go to File and click Open. Then you will select the one you want to open among your files and it will open. You just have to find it on your computer and start using it.
python
Python is one of the most used programs in the world of programming and one of the simplest. It works in a similar way to Windows Notepad with certain functions and automatable commands that make the programming task easier for you. With it you can read and write this type of files in a simple way.
If you want to do it, you must open the program and go to File and then to Open. You will look for the file to open and apply the “json.load” command. Thus, you will see in python all the codes in it. If you don’t have it, you can download it here.
Excel
This is much more than a spreadsheet, and although you could not imagine that this is one of the options to turn to, it is very interesting due to its versatility and functions. Therefore, you will be able to easily read files of this format from the program itself. All you have to do is open it and get into a new spreadsheet.
What you have to do next is go to Data and go to Get Data. You must select From File and subsequently From JSON. Once you do, you can navigate through the folders until you find the one in which the file you want to read is located. You give it to open and you will be able to see all its content.
on Mac
The macOS operating system has several native text editors that allow you to view these file formats, although we can also find other solutions. On Macintosh it is possible to open them with MacVim, GNU Emacs, Mozilla Firefox, Apple TextEdit, Bare Bones TextWrangler and GDevelop, among others.
AppleTextEdit
This is a text editor found in the operating system with functions quite complete and complex. You will be able to access different file extensions like this while maintaining its original structure.
MacVin
It’s about a powerful source code editor with many programming languages. Of course, you can only use it if you have OS X 10.8, 10.7 and 10.6 for programming and for text extensions such as JSON, HMTL and CSS.
Bare Bones TextEdit
This is a free program compatible with macOS to edit simple text and source code. You can use most of its functions for programming, and although it is intended for design, it has the ability to open files with different extensions, as in this case.
on linux
Linux you don’t have a text editing program integrated to open files in this format, although there are several that can be used for it and you can download them for free on your computer. On Linux you can open these files with GNU Emacs, Vim, Pico and GDevelop, among others, although you can also use Mozilla Firefox for this purpose.
GNU Emacs
This is a complete text editor that works with open source widely used by Linux users, although you can use it if you wish for Windows and Mac. It has the ability to open and edit different file extensions, as is the case with JSON. In addition, it automates certain aspects of the programming, which increases its attractiveness.
PEAK
Pine Composer (PICO) is a program free text editing that you can download and that has been developed for the UNIX system. It has basic functions and its main format is TXT, although it is compatible like others, such as JSON.
vim
This is a free program that allows edit open source and features simple text editing. Although it is not one of the most used for programming, it does have advantages such as the possibility of viewing different types of files, as is the case with HS, BSH, JSON and TEX. Therefore, it is a tool with many years of activity and recognized. You can download it from here.
on Android
If you want to open these types of files on your mobile device with Androidalthough there are no native apps that allow it, you can download them from the operating system’s app store, so we’ll tell you about some of the best known and most interesting ones that can perform these functions.
JSONViewer
It is a tool that reorder the data string of the file to provide you with a good view of its content. All you have to do is choose it from your device and it will offer you the best comfortable viewing options.
In addition, with it you can convert file formats to a new one with a PDF extension without changing its content in case you are interested in having another view or saving it in this format for some reason.
JSON Genie
It is an app through which you can not only view file content in this extension, but it will also allow you to perform certain actions with them. Thus, it has tools through which you can edit, copy, add and delete values that are contained in them.
Moreover, you will be able to access them no matter where they are stored on your device. You just have to download the app and start taking advantage of its features.
JSON & XML Tools
This is another application with which you can open, create and edit files in JSON and XML format from your smartphone or tablet. In addition to opening, another of the possibilities that it allows you is convert from one format to another without altering the structure of its content, in case you need to do so at some point.
This is very simple to do and will allow you interesting functions. If you want to use it, all you have to do is download it from your device’s app store, search for it and install it to open it easily.
Other options to open these files
In addition to resorting to tools that you can have or download on your operating system, there are other solutions that may be interesting for you, such as resorting to online tools, a web browser or conversion tools. For this reason, we will tell you about the most important ones.
By Internet
First of all, you can do it with the browser MozillaFirefox, which you probably already have on your computer and if you don’t have it you can download it. One of its advantages is that it is an interesting option for Windows, macOS and Linux users, so you won’t find any problems using it. All you have to do is access it and drag the file to the new window. The browser itself will take care of displaying its content without altering it.
The main advantage of using this web browser to view files with a JSON extension is that any operating system can use the service. So users of Windows, Linux and macOS can use this feature of Mozilla Firefox.
To be able to open JSON files in Mozilla Firefox you will only have to access said browser and then you must drag the JSON file to the new Mozilla window. The browser will take care of revealing the content of the file without altering the content of the same.
There is also multiple sites where you can access these contents through the Internet, as is the case of jsoneditoronline.org, an online app where you can open JSON files. To do this you just have to go to their website, open the tab Open and give to Open from Disk. You will have to find the file you want to open and the content will be displayed in the application itself.
Convert JSON files to another format
Although you will have seen that it is not necessary to do the conversion to another format since there are several programs that allow you to view it correctly and without affecting its content, doing so may be something you need and it is done frequently.
How I know based on plain text, have several options to be converted to other formats with conversion programs that we usually know or even exclusive for this purpose that you can download from the Internet or use on the network itself. You will find many tools designed for this, so you just have to choose the one that most convinces you.
One of them is Anyconv, with which you only have to use it to achieve it. It has many options and formats that can be interesting. It not only changes from this extension to another but vice versa.
You just have to give choose file in the central part of the screen, select the file from your computer, choose which extension you want to convert to and it will do the conversion automatically. It is one of several programs that perform this function, but with a simple search you can find many more if you are not convinced.