How to fix json broken by copy-paste
- Step 1Paste the corrupted JSON — Paste the JSON that was copied from Word, a PDF, Slack, an email, or any rich-text application. The corruption may not be visible to the eye — smart quotes look like regular quotes in many fonts.
- Step 2Run the fixer — Click Fix. The fixer scans for invisible characters, smart quotes, and escaped sequence corruption. Each detected issue is listed with its correction.
- Step 3Verify the fixed output parses — The fixed JSON is validated after correction. If parsing succeeds, the output is clean JSON ready to use. If issues remain, the validator shows the position of the remaining error.
- Step 4Prevent future corruption — When sharing JSON through rich-text channels, wrap it in a code block (Slack: triple backticks, email: monospace font, documents: code block style). Code blocks preserve plain-text quoting and prevent smart-quote substitution.
Frequently asked questions
Why do smart quotes break JSON?+
JSON requires straight ASCII double quotes (U+0022) to delimit strings. Smart quotes are separate Unicode characters: U+201C (“) for left double quote and U+201D (”) for right. JSON parsers recognize only U+0022 as a valid string delimiter — smart quotes cause a parse error at the position where the parser expects a standard double quote.
How do I prevent smart-quote corruption when sharing JSON?+
Always share JSON in a plain-text context: use code blocks in Slack and Teams (``` backtick wrapping), paste into a plain-text editor first to strip rich-text formatting, and use Pastebin or GitHub Gist for sharing JSON snippets in email. macOS System Preferences →’ Keyboard →’ disable 'Use smart quotes and dashes' prevents the substitution at the OS level.
Is the pasted content transmitted to JAD Apps?+
No. Format fixing runs entirely in your browser. Pasted JSON content is never transmitted to JAD Apps servers.
Privacy first
Conversion runs locally in your browser. No file is uploaded — only metadata counters are saved for signed-in dashboard stats.