How to format a minified JSON file in Linux terminal
1. Using jq command
If we have this minified compact JSON from a curl output or a file downloaded from the internet:
{"errors":[{"errors":[{"id":1,"code":"ERR_ParseError","field":"Row","message":"Row 1 could not be imported.","parameters":null}]},{"errors":[{"id":2,"code":"ERR_MissingRequiredFields","field":"Row","message":"Row 2 does not have a Parameter","parameters":null}]},{"errors":[{"id":3,"code":"ERR_ParseError","field":"Row","message":"Row 3 could not be imported.","parameters":null}]},{"errors":[{"id":4,"code":"ERR_DoesNotExist","field":"Object","message":"Object dsasdadas does not exist.","parameters":{"Parameter1":"dsasdadas","Parameter2":""}}]}]}
We can make it into readable form by using the jq command:
To use it:
$ cat file.json | jqThis prints in stdout the extended JSON file:
{
"errors": [
{
"errors": [
{
"id": 1,
"code": "ERR_ParseError",
"field": "Row",
"message": "Row 1 could not be imported.",
"parameters": null
}
]
},
{
"errors": [
{
"id": 2,
"code": "ERR_MissingRequiredFields",
"field": "Row",
"message": "Row 2 does not have a Parameter.",
"parameters": null
}
]
},
{
"errors": [
{
"id": 3,
"code": "ERR_ParseError",
"field": "Row",
"message": "Row 3 could not be imported.",
"parameters": null
}
]
},
{
"errors": [
{
"id": 4,
"code": "ERR_DoesNotExist",
"field": "Object",
"message": "Object dsasdadas does not exist.",
"parameters": {
"Parameter1": "dsasdadas",
"Parameter2": ""
}
}
]
}
]
}
If we want to save it into a file:
$ cat file.json | jq > human.json2. Using python3 with a module
Instead of installing a new program, it is possible to do this with a standard module in python3: