JSON Formatting Best Practices: Structure, Naming, and Style

Well-formatted JSON is easier to read, debug, and maintain. These best practices apply to API responses, config files, and data storage.

Naming

• Use consistent case (camelCase or snake_case)
• Be descriptive: createdAt not ca
• Use plural for arrays: "items" not "item"

Structure

• Avoid nesting deeper than 3 levels
• Use arrays for ordered collections, objects for key-value data
• Include null for missing optional fields (don't omit them)

Convert Keys

Use our JSON keys to camelCase or JSON keys to snake_case.