Convert escaped JSON strings to readable JSON format — unescape & parse instantly
Convert escaped JSON strings to readable JSON format - perfect for API responses and log files
Try the string to JSON converter with sample data
Use our free String to JSON converter to parse escaped JSON strings into readable, formatted JSON in 3 simple steps
Paste your escaped string into the String to JSON converter (e.g., from API responses, log files, or database records). Our tool automatically detects and parses escaped characters to convert your string to JSON.
"{\\"holiday\\":\\"Christmas\\",\\"date\\":\\"2025-12-25\\",\\"playlist\\":[\\"Jingle Bells\\",\\"Silent Night\\",\\"Last Christmas\\"],\\"giftExchange\\":{\\"participants\\":4,\\"location\\":\\"Living Room\\",\\"time\\":\\"18:00\\"},\\"tree\\":{\\"type\\":\\"Norway Spruce\\",\\"height_ft\\":7.5,\\"lights\\":[\\"red\\",\\"green\\",\\"warm white\\"]},\\"metadata\\":{\\"source\\":\\"string-to-json demo\\",\\"tool\\":\\"https://jsontotable.net/string-to-json\\"}}"Watch your String to JSON conversion instantly produce a beautifully formatted, readable JSON object. All escape characters are properly parsed and the output is indented for clarity.
{
"holiday": "Christmas",
"date": "2025-12-25",
"playlist": [
"Jingle Bells",
"Silent Night",
"Last Christmas"
],
"giftExchange": {
"participants": 4,
"location": "Living Room",
"time": "18:00"
},
"tree": {
"type": "Norway Spruce",
"height_ft": 7.5,
"lights": [
"red",
"green",
"warm white"
]
},
"metadata": {
"source": "string-to-json demo",
"tool": "https://jsontotable.net/string-to-json"
}
}Export your String to JSON result in the format you need. Download formatted JSON for development, minify for production, or copy the converted JSON directly to your clipboard.
String to JSON turns text that already contains JSON, often wrapped in quotes and escaped, back into a real JSON object. Here is what it can parse, what it cannot, and how to handle escaped quotes, newlines and JSON stored inside another field.
JSON text already follows JSON syntax: braces or brackets, double-quoted keys and double-quoted string values. Plain text such as name: Ana, age: 30 or Hello world does not, so the converter reports a parse error instead of guessing a structure. To turn plain text into JSON you need to write the structure yourself, for example {"name":"Ana","age":30}, and then paste it here to validate and format it.
When JSON is serialized a second time, or saved in a text column, it becomes a string literal like "{\"name\":\"Ana\"}". The String to JSON converter removes matching outer double or single quotes, unescapes the text once and parses the result. The outer quotes are optional, and ordinary unescaped JSON is parsed as-is.
Inside a string literal every quote is written as \", and a line break inside a value is written as \\n because it is escaped twice. Unescaping turns these into " and \n in the parsed JSON. A single \n between keys and values is fine, but a single \n inside a value becomes a raw line break, which JSON does not allow, so parsing fails.
APIs, queues and logs often carry JSON inside a string field, such as {"event":"signup","payload":"{\"userId\":7}"}. If you paste the whole object, the outer object is parsed and payload stays a string, because nested strings are not parsed recursively. Copy the field value, including its quotes, and paste it on its own to get { "userId": 7 } as an object.
Each conversion removes one layer of quoting and escaping. If a value was encoded twice, the first result is still a quoted string such as "{\"id\":1}". Paste that result back into the input and convert again to get the JSON object.
To turn JSON into an escaped string for source code, an environment variable or a log message, use the JSON Escape & Unescape tool. It also unescapes text without parsing it, which helps when the content is not JSON at all.
Each input on the right was run through the same parser the String to JSON converter uses, and the result is shown below it. Examples 1 to 4 convert to JSON; example 5 is plain text and returns an error (the exact error wording depends on your browser). Paste any of them into the converter above to try it.
// 1. JSON string literal (outer quotes optional)
Input:
"{\"name\":\"Ana\",\"tags\":[\"admin\",\"editor\"]}"
Result:
{
"name": "Ana",
"tags": [
"admin",
"editor"
]
}
// 2. Escaped log line without outer quotes
Input:
{\"name\":\"Ana\",\"active\":true}
Result:
{
"name": "Ana",
"active": true
}
// 3. Newline inside a value: \\n in the literal
Input:
"{\"note\":\"line 1\\nline 2\",\"quote\":\"She said \\\"hi\\\"\"}"
Result:
{
"note": "line 1\nline 2",
"quote": "She said \"hi\""
}
// 4. JSON stored in a field: paste the field value
Input:
"{\"userId\":7,\"plan\":\"pro\"}"
Result:
{
"userId": 7,
"plan": "pro"
}
// 5. Plain text is not JSON
Input:
name: Ana, age: 30
Result:
Error: Unexpected token 'a', "name: Ana, age: 30" is not valid JSONCommon questions about converting escaped strings to JSON
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