Prettify JSON with IntelliJ scratch files!

#java #programming #beginners

If you develop web services and you're an IntelliJ IDEA user, then here's a simple tip that can save some time.

Let's say you have an ugly JSON response that came from a log, the output from a cURL command, or elsewhere.

It might look something like this example response from jsonapi.org:

{ "data": [{ "type": "articles", "id": "1", "attributes": { "title": "JSON:API paints my bikeshed!", "body": "The shortest article. Ever.", "created": "2015-05-22T14:56:29.000Z", "updated": "2015-05-22T14:56:28.000Z" }, "relationships": { "author": { "data": {"id": "42", "type": "people"} } } }], "included": [ { "type": "people", "id": "42", "attributes": { "name": "John", "age": 80, "gender": "male" } } ] }

Try these steps:

Copy it.
Open IntelliJ.
Go to File > New > Scratch file... or use the shortcut key Shift + Command (Apple) + N.
Choose "JSON" (hint: you can type "json").
Paste.
Go to Code > Reformat code or use the shortcut key Alt + Option + L.

Note: The above shortcut keys are for macOS. Review the IntelliJ Keymap reference for the corresponding shortcuts in your operating system.

The result will now be that you have nicely-formatted / prettified JSON:

{
  "data": [
    {
      "type": "articles",
      "id": "1",
      "attributes": {
        "title": "JSON:API paints my bikeshed!",
        "body": "The shortest article. Ever.",
        "created": "2015-05-22T14:56:29.000Z",
        "updated": "2015-05-22T14:56:28.000Z"
      },
      "relationships": {
        "author": {
          "data": {
            "id": "42",
            "type": "people"
          }
        }
      }
    }
  ],
  "included": [
    {
      "type": "people",
      "id": "42",
      "attributes": {
        "name": "John",
        "age": 80,
        "gender": "male"
      }
    }
  ]
}