View Json File in Browser

It is not a programming question, but need your views in few words.

When we hit the JSON url in Broswer, it asks us to save the file. Why this happens ? Is there any way to view it on the page itself ? Is there any addon available to view JSON file in browser?

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13 Answers

In Chrome use JSONView or Firefox use JSONView

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If you don't want to install extensions, you can simply prepend the URL with view-source:, e.g. view-source:. This usually works in Firefox and Chrome (will still offer to download the file however if Content-Disposition: attachment header is present).

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In Chrome, use JSONView to view formatted JSON.

To view "local" *.json files: - after install You must open the Extensions option from Window menu. - Check box next to "Allow Access to File URLs" - note that save is automatic (i.e. no explicit save necessary)

Re-open the *.json file and it should be formatted.

Firefox 44 includes a built-in JSON viewer (no add-ons required). The feature is turned off by default, so turn on devtools.jsonview.enabled: How can you disable the new JSON Viewer/Reader in Firefox Developer Edition?

json-ie.reg. for IE

try this url


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Well I was searching view json file in WebBrowser in my Desktop app, when I try in IE still same problem IE was also prompt to download the file. Luckily after too much search I find the solution for it.

You need to : Open Notepad and paste the following:

    [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\MIME\Database\Content Type\application/json]
    "CLSID"="{25336920-03F9-11cf-8FD0-00AA00686F13}"
    "Encoding"=hex:08,00,00,00
    
Save document as Json.reg and then right click on file and run as administrator.

After this You can view json file in IE and you Desktop WebBrowser enjoy :)

I have the Content-Type of my JSON-printing CGIs set to text/javascript.

Works fine for both displaying in browser (e.g. Firefox) and processing in script.

Of course there's no syntax-highlighting in this case.

For Firefox's Bookmarks JSON files, use this excellent Bookmarklet:

javascript:(function(){var E=document.getElementsByTagName('PRE')[0],T=E.innerHTML,i=0,r1,r2;t=new Array();while(/("uri":"([^"]*)")/g.exec(T)){r1=RegExp.$1;r2=RegExp.$2;if(/^https?:/.exec(r2)){t[i++]='['+(i)+']:<a href='+r2+'>'+r2+'<\/a>';}}with(window.open().document){for(i=0;t[i];i++)write(t[i]+'<br>');close();}})();

Source: "alterna" from forums.Mozillazine.org:

If there is a Content-Disposition: attachment reponse header, Firefox will ask you to save the file, even if you have JSONView installed to format JSON.

To bypass this problem, I removed the header ("Content-Disposition" : null) with moz-rewrite Firefox addon that allows you to modify request and response headers

An example of JSON file served with this header is the Twitter API (it looks like they added it recently). If you want to try this JSON file, I have a script to access Twitter API in browser:

I would also recommend to use Notepad++ with json-view extension. You get the extension here: Install and restart Notepad++. Then open json-file in Notepad and go to "extensions -> Json-Viewer - > Format JSON. Then you habe the hierarchical view of json.

You can also use one of the online-viewers ( , ) which look nice, but I wouldn't recommend this if your data are sensitive in terms of privacy.

For Safari 12 and later, you can try the JSONBeautifier bookmarklet. Also works with other browsers.

I created this because JSON Formatter for Safari stopped working in Safari 12. There are a few new options for Safari 12, but I didn't find an open source one in the App Store, and I do not trust closed source browser extensions.

This can be used as a bookmarklet or the source, json-beautifier.js, can be copied and pasted into the browser console. The code is freely available for review and is less than 100 lines of code including comments. Runs entirely on your device and never sends your data over a network.

Works with local files too. 🤓

Try this one Chrome extension

Just install and open URL in browser

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Right click on JSON file, select open, navigate to program you want open with(notepad). Consecutive opens automatically use notepad.

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Chloe Bennett

Chloe Bennett

Culture, Media & Entertainment Columnist

Chloe Bennett explores the intersection of pop culture, streaming entertainment, digital trends, and contemporary lifestyle. Her weekly commentary reaches thousands of culture enthusiasts.

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