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Nouto

JSON Explorer Extension

Nouto JSON Explorer is a standalone VS Code extension that opens JSON files in an interactive tree and table viewer. It runs on the same explorer engine as the Nouto REST client and the desktop app, so the viewing experience is identical, but it installs on its own and has no request, collection, or environment features.

Install it when you want a fast JSON viewer in VS Code and do not need the REST client.

Installation

Section titled “Installation”

Search for Nouto JSON Explorer in the VS Code Extensions view and install it, or run this from the Command Palette:

ext install frostybee-dev.nouto-json-explorer

Requires Visual Studio Code 1.74.0 or later.

Opening JSON

Section titled “Opening JSON”
  • From the file explorer: Right-click any .json, .jsonl, or .ndjson file and select Open with JSON Explorer. JSONL and NDJSON files load as an array with one element per line; a malformed line reports an error with its line number.
  • From the editor: Right-click inside an open JSON file and select Open with JSON Explorer, or click the JSON Explorer icon in the editor title bar.
  • From anywhere on disk: Click the folder icon in the sidebar, or run Nouto JSON Explorer: Open JSON File from Disk from the Command Palette. This works for files outside the current workspace.
  • From the clipboard: Copy JSON from a browser, terminal, or API response, open the sidebar, and click Paste JSON.
  • From a URL: Click Fetch from URL… in the sidebar, enter an HTTP endpoint, and click Fetch. Optionally add custom request headers (e.g. API keys) in the form - header values are stored securely via the operating system keychain. Fetched URLs appear in the recent files list and re-fetch fresh data when clicked. Requests are GET-only.
Section titled “Sidebar”

The sidebar keeps a list of recently opened files and fetched URLs. Click an entry to reopen the file or re-fetch the URL. Hover to reveal a remove button. File entries show a JSON icon; URL entries show a globe icon.

Icon Action
Folder Open a JSON file from disk
Clear all Clear the recent files list
Info Open the About panel

Feature reference

Section titled “Feature reference”

Every viewing feature is shared with the REST client and documented on one page: JSON Explorer. That page covers tree and table views, search, the JSONPath filter, the context menu, statistics, the minimap, pinned nodes, timestamp hints, embedded JSON detection, sort keys, subtree extraction, JSON Schema validation, multi-select, and copy formats - all of which behave the same in this extension. The JSONPath filter and the query filter each include a built-in reference panel (click the ? button in the filter bar).

Three features have dedicated pages in this section:

  • Query Filter - the field comparison language on Ctrl+Shift+K
  • Compare - diff the open document against another JSON document
  • Generate Types - TypeScript, Zod, Rust, Go, Python, and JSON Schema output

Limitations

Section titled “Limitations”
  • Files larger than 20 MB are not supported and open in the default text editor instead.
  • The extension does not modify files. Make edits in a text editor.