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Convert JSON to CSV

Convert array of object in JSON format to CSV.

Tips

  • The input must be a JSON array of objects ([{}, {}, ...]). Single objects are not supported.
  • Useful when you want to work with REST API response data in Excel or Google Sheets.
  • Values in deeply nested objects are not flattened — they are output as null strings.
  • The downloaded CSV is encoded in UTF-8. If you see garbled characters in Excel, open it as UTF-8 with BOM.

Side Note — The Origin of JSON: "Discovered", Not Invented

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) was formalized by Douglas Crockford around 2001. He has said that he did not invent JSON — he discovered it. He standardized the object literal syntax already present in JavaScript into a data interchange format.

From around 2006, JSON spread rapidly alongside the rise of Ajax (asynchronous communication). Its simplicity compared to XML's verbose syntax won over developers. While early critics said "JSON can't replace XML," it is now the de facto standard data format for REST APIs.

As an interesting aside, Crockford included the clause "The Software shall be used for Good, not Evil." in the JSON spec's copyright notice. This caused a minor stir when legal departments at large companies like Google and IBM requested a formal license because they couldn't commit to determining what counts as "good."

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