JSON Unstringifier

Working with stringified JSON that's full of escape characters? This free online tool converts stringified JSON back into its clean, readable format. Paste the escaped string into the input field, and the unstringified output appears instantly on the right. Copy the result with one click and use it wherever needed.

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How Does the JSON Unstringifier Work?

Paste stringified JSON into the input field on the left side of the tool. The unstringified, properly formatted JSON will appear automatically in the output field on the right. Use the 'Copy to Clipboard' button to grab the result or 'Download Text' to save it as a file. The tool removes the outer wrapping quotes and resolves all escape sequences, turning characters like \" back into regular quotes, \n into actual newlines, and \t into proper tabs. All processing happens directly in the browser, so no data gets sent to external servers.

Why Unstringify JSON?

Stringified JSON is what you get when JSON data has been converted into a plain text string. The process adds escape characters throughout the content, wrapping the entire structure in quotes and replacing internal quotes with backslash-escaped versions. The result is technically valid but almost impossible to read or work with by eye.

This happens frequently when JSON is stored inside other JSON, passed through APIs, logged in server outputs, or saved in database fields as text. What should be a clean, structured object ends up looking like a wall of backslashes and escaped characters.

Manually cleaning up stringified JSON is tedious and error-prone. Missing a single escaped quote or removing the wrong backslash breaks the entire structure. This tool handles the conversion accurately, turning that messy string back into properly formatted JSON.

When Would This Tool Come in Handy?

There are plenty of situations where unstringifying JSON saves time: Debugging API responses where JSON payloads have been double-encoded or wrapped in strings. Reading server logs that store JSON data as escaped text strings. Extracting readable data from database records where JSON is stored as a stringified value. Cleaning up webhook payloads that arrive with extra layers of string encoding. Inspecting configuration files where JSON values have been escaped for storage.

What Is Stringified JSON?

When JSON gets stringified, the structured data is converted into a single text string. A simple object like this:

{"name": "Convert Case", "type": "tool"}

Becomes this when stringified:

"{\"name\": \"Convert Case\", \"type\": \"tool\"}"

The entire object is wrapped in outer quotes, and every internal quote is preceded by a backslash. Nested objects, arrays, and special characters all receive the same treatment. The deeper the nesting, the more layers of escaping pile up, making the data progressively harder to read.

JSON Unstringify Example

Starting with this stringified JSON:

"{\"site\":\"convertcase.net\",\"tools\":[\"case converter\",\"word counter\"],\"settings\":{\"theme\":\"dark\",\"autoSave\":true}}"

The unstringifier produces this clean output:

{
  "site": "convertcase.net",
  "tools": ["case converter", "word counter"],
  "settings": {
    "theme": "dark",
    "autoSave": true
  }
}

Handling Double-Stringified JSON

Sometimes JSON ends up stringified more than once, particularly when data passes through multiple systems or APIs. Double-stringified JSON has two layers of escaping, with backslashes escaping other backslashes. This tool handles multiple layers of stringification, resolving each level of escaping to return the original clean JSON structure.

Tips for Best Results

For the cleanest output, make sure the input is a complete stringified JSON string including its outer quotes. Partial strings or fragments with mismatched escaping may not convert correctly. If the output still contains escape characters after conversion, the JSON may have been stringified more than once. Run it through the tool again to resolve the next layer. The tool preserves the original data structure and values exactly as they were before stringification. No keys, values, or formatting are altered during the conversion.

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