Projects

Minimal JSONL Formatter

Static web app for formatting JSON Lines.

  • JavaScript
  • JSONL
  • HTML
  • CSS
  • Web

formatjsonl.com is a small utility site for working with JSON Lines. The goal was to make the common workflow simple: paste raw JSONL, drop in a file, and immediately get something easier to read.

Cover image for the formatjsonl project

Problem

I've been using JSONL frequently when working with the did:webvh specification, and I couldn't find a tight, convenient online JSONL formatter.

Implementation

This project is intentionally small and static. It is built with plain HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, which kept the deployment lightweight and made it easy to focus on the formatter behavior and the UI flow instead of framework overhead.

The main work here was less about complexity and more about polish: keeping input friction low, handling the common file types, and making the output useful immediately.

What I Learned

  • Small developer tools still benefit from careful UX decisions.
  • Search engines are certain you mean json instead of jsonl.
  • Owning a domain as accurate as formatjsonl.com is fun.

Image Credit

Photo by Cathy Holewinski on Unsplash