Document format

What Is a JSON File?

The data format behind nearly every app and API — readable by people, and the one thing Filemorph can turn straight into a spreadsheet.

What is JSON?

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) stores structured data — objects, lists, numbers, text, nested inside each other — as plain text using a small, simple syntax of curly braces, brackets, and colons. Despite the name, it has nothing to do with JavaScript running anywhere; it became the near-universal format for web APIs, app configuration files, and data exports because virtually every programming language can read and write it with minimal effort, and because a person can still read a JSON file directly without special software, unlike a binary data format. A JSON file most commonly reaches a phone as an exported dataset, an API response, or an app's settings backup, and the typical next step is turning that structured data into something more usable outside of code — a CSV or Excel spreadsheet for a non-technical audience, or YAML for a configuration file that a human is meant to edit by hand. That flexibility, structuring almost any data shape while staying plain text, is exactly why JSON ended up as the connective format between so many of Filemorph's other document and data tools.

How to open .json files

iPhone, iPad, and Mac open JSON as plain text in Files and any code editor. Every programming language and most data tools on any platform read JSON directly, since it's a text-based, minimally structured format built specifically for that purpose.

Why convert JSON?

JSON is built for software to read, not for browsing in a spreadsheet or handing to someone non-technical. Converting a JSON export into CSV or Excel on-device turns raw API or app data into something anyone can open and understand.

Filemorph can convert JSON to CSV on-device — a flat, spreadsheet-readable version of the same data, for anyone who doesn't need to work with the raw JSON structure.

Convert JSON on iPhone, iPad and Mac

Filemorph converts .json files entirely on-device on iPhone, iPad and Mac — no upload, no account, and it works in Airplane Mode.

Relevant operations in Filemorph:

Related

Related formats

FAQ

Why does an app export its data as JSON instead of a spreadsheet?

JSON can represent nested and structured data — lists inside objects inside other objects — that a flat spreadsheet format like CSV cannot easily hold, and virtually every programming language can parse it without extra effort, which is why apps and APIs default to it.

Can Filemorph turn a JSON export into something I can browse like a spreadsheet?

Yes. Filemorph converts a JSON array directly into a CSV file or an Excel spreadsheet on the iPhone, turning an API export or app backup into something readable without any coding knowledge.

Is converting a JSON file with personal data on iPhone private?

Yes. Filemorph converts JSON files entirely on-device, so an app data export or API response never has to be uploaded anywhere, and the conversion works the same with no internet connection.