Parse JSON into a Flat List

Extract values from complex JSON structures into clean, flat lists with this Parse JSON into a Flat List tool. Whether you’re working with API responses, configuration files, or nested data objects, this tool flattens any JSON structure into readable line-by-line output. Perfect for developers who need to extract specific data points, create import lists, or convert JSON objects into simple text formats for further processing.

Paste your JSON data (arrays, objects, or nested structures).
Items Extracted: 0
Options
Include keys
Skip empty values
Remove duplicates

How to Use:

1. Input Your JSON

  • Paste your JSON data into the input box, including arrays, objects, or nested structures
  • Use the Import button to load JSON files directly from your computer
  • The Parse JSON into a Flat List tool validates and processes your data automatically

2. Configure Extraction Options

  • Toggle “Include keys” to show property names alongside values in the output
  • Enable “Skip empty values” to remove null, undefined, or blank entries from results
  • Turn on “Remove duplicates” to eliminate repeated items from your flat list
  • Customize the “Key separator” field to control how keys and values are joined

3. Choose Extraction Mode

  • Select “Values only” to extract just the data values from your JSON
  • Pick “Keys only” to get a list of all property names and field identifiers
  • Use “Key paths” to see the full nested path to each value (like “users[0].name”)
  • Choose “Key-Value pairs” to get formatted combinations of keys and their values

4. Parse and Export

  • Click “Parse” to extract your flat list from the JSON structure
  • Use “Copy” to copy the extracted list to your clipboard
  • Export your results as a text file for use in spreadsheets or other applications
  • The tool displays a count of how many items were successfully extracted

What Parse JSON into a Flat List can do:

This tool handles all kinds of JSON parsing scenarios that developers and data workers face daily. Got a massive API response with nested user data? Extract just the email addresses or usernames into a clean list. Working with configuration files that have deep object structures? Pull out all the setting values or property names for documentation.

The extraction modes give you serious flexibility. Values-only mode works great when you need product names from an e-commerce API or error messages from log files. Keys-only extraction helps when you’re documenting APIs or need to understand the structure of unfamiliar JSON data.

Path extraction is super useful for debugging and data mapping. Instead of manually tracing through nested objects, you get clear paths like “products[2].specifications.weight” that show exactly where each value lives in the original structure. This makes it easy to build queries or update specific fields later.

Key-value pairs mode creates formatted output that’s perfect for reports or human-readable lists. You can customize the separator to match your needs, whether you want “name: John Smith” style formatting or “name = John Smith” depending on your target system.

The tool’s smart about handling different JSON structures too. Simple arrays get flattened properly, complex nested objects get traversed completely, and mixed data types are converted to text cleanly. Empty value filtering keeps your results clean, while duplicate removal helps when working with data that has repeated entries.

Example:

Here’s how the tool works with a typical JSON structure. Starting with this user data:

json

{
  "users": [
    {"name": "John Smith", "email": "[email protected]"},
    {"name": "Jane Doe", "email": "[email protected]"}
  ],
  "settings": {"theme": "dark", "notifications": true}
}

Values only mode extracts:

John Smith
[email protected]
Jane Doe
[email protected]
dark
true

Key paths mode shows:

users[0].name
users[0].email
users[1].name
users[1].email
settings.theme
settings.notifications

Key-Value pairs mode creates:

name: John Smith
email: [email protected]
name: Jane Doe
email: [email protected]
theme: dark
notifications: true

Parse JSON to List Table:

This table demonstrates how different JSON structures get converted to flat lists, showing the tool’s ability to handle various data formats and extraction modes.

JSON InputValues OnlyKey Paths
[“apple”, “banana”, “cherry”]apple
banana
cherry		[0]
[1]
[2]
{“name”: “John”, “age”: 30}John
30		name
age
{“users”: [{“id”: 1}, {“id”: 2}]}1
2		users[0].id
users[1].id
{“config”: {“theme”: “dark”, “lang”: “en”}}dark
en		config.theme
config.lang
{“items”: [“task1”, “task2”], “count”: 2}task1
task2
2		items[0]
items[1]
count

Common Use Cases:

API developers use this tool constantly for extracting specific data from complex responses. Instead of writing custom parsing scripts, you can quickly pull email lists from user endpoints, product IDs from catalog APIs, or error codes from log files. The path extraction mode is particularly valuable for API documentation, showing exactly how to access nested values in response objects. Data analysts find it helpful for converting JSON exports into CSV-ready formats, extracting column values from database dumps, or preparing data for spreadsheet analysis. The duplicate removal feature saves time when working with denormalized data that contains repeated entries across different objects.

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