You paste a 500-line API response into your editor. You need the price of the third item in store.book. You start typing $.store.book[2].price — then wonder if it's book or books, index 2 or 3, dot or bracket notation.
JSONPath is the right tool for the job. Finding the right path by hand is the painful part.
I built JSON Path Finder on FormatList to fix exactly that: paste JSON, browse an interactive tree, click any node, and copy its JSONPath instantly. No account, no upload to a server — everything runs in your browser.
For the full syntax guide (filters, wildcards, slices, library support), see the long-form article: JSON Path Finder Guide.
What JSON Path Finder does
1. Visual tree → instant JSONPath
Paste JSON on the left. Expand objects and arrays in the tree view. Click any key or value — the exact JSONPath appears in the path bar (e.g. $.store.book[1].title). One click to copy.
Works for deeply nested structures: Kubernetes manifests, Stripe webhooks, GraphQL responses, LLM tool outputs — wherever manual path construction gets tedious.
2. Evaluate expressions against real data
Type or paste a JSONPath in the Evaluate panel. The tool runs the query and shows every match with its path and value.
Supported syntax includes:
- Dot and bracket notation:
$.store.book,$['store']['book'] - Wildcards and recursive descent:
$[*],$..author - Filters:
$[?(@.price < 15)] - Slices and unions:
$[0:2],$[0,2,4]
If the expression is invalid, you get a clear error instead of silent wrong results.
3. Search the tree
Large payloads? Use the search box to jump to keys or values by name — then click to grab the path.
A quick example
Given this JSON:
{
"store": {
"book": [
{ "title": "1984", "author": "Orwell", "price": 9.99 },
{ "title": "Dune", "author": "Herbert", "price": 14.99 }
]
}
}
| Goal | JSONPath |
|---|---|
| All book titles | $.store.book[*].title |
| Books under $12 | $.store.book[?(@.price < 12)] |
| Second book's author | $.store.book[1].author |
Click Herbert in the tree → you get $.store.book[1].author without counting brackets.
JSON Path Finder vs JSONPath Explainer
FormatList has two JSONPath tools — they complement each other:
| JSONPath Explainer | JSON Path Finder | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Explains what an expression means | Evaluates expressions on your JSON |
| Input | A JSONPath string | JSON data + optional expression |
| Output | Plain-English breakdown | Matching values and paths |
| Best for | Learning syntax | Debugging APIs, writing configs, data extraction |
Learn with Explainer. Test with Finder.
Privacy and performance
- 100% client-side — your JSON never leaves the browser. Safe for production API responses, PII, or internal configs.
- No install — open the page and paste. Works on any modern browser.
- Large files — multi-megabyte JSON is fine; performance depends on your device.
When to use it
| Scenario | Why JSON Path Finder helps |
|---|---|
| API debugging | Find the path to a field in a messy nested response |
| jq / Python / Node scripts | Copy the correct path before writing jsonpath or JSONPath code |
| Kubernetes / Helm | Locate values in large YAML→JSON manifests |
| Low-code / automation | Get paths for Zapier, n8n, or workflow field mappings |
| Learning JSONPath | See how click paths map to syntax in real data |
FAQ
Is my data sent to a server?
No. All parsing and evaluation happen locally in your browser.
What if I only know JSONPath syntax, not the data shape?
Use JSONPath Explainer to decode expressions. Use Finder when you have the JSON and need the path.
Where's the deep dive on filters and libraries?
The full guide lives on FormatList: JSON Path Finder Guide.
Try it
Paste your JSON, click a node, copy the path. If it saves you five minutes on your next API debug session, it did its job.
FormatList also has JSON Repair, CSV converters, and other data tools — all free and browser-local at formatlist.com.
Free tool, runs entirely in your browser. Feedback welcome on About.
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