Troubleshooting JSON Compare

Start here

If JSON Compare returns unexpected results, work through the symptoms below before assuming the file is unrecoverable. Most issues are encoding, delimiter, or header mismatches — not corrupt data.

Common symptoms and fixes

• Parse error at line N: Open the file at that line — trailing commas and single quotes are frequent culprits.
• Valid JSON but wrong structure: Confirm array vs object root; some tools expect one record per line (JSONL).
• Conversion to CSV missing columns: Nested objects flatten differently; flatten in source or adjust schema first.

Re-run after each fix. Client-side processing makes iteration fast.

Using Health Score for diagnosis

Pair this workflow with JSON Health Score when you need a graded quality report beyond the immediate task. Sort issues by severity — fix blocking errors before warnings. A score jump from C to A usually means one systematic fix (encoding, header rename, date format), not hundreds of row edits.

When to escalate

If the file fails every tool in JSON Tools, inspect raw bytes (hex editor or `file` command) for wrong encoding labels. Re-export from the source system with explicit UTF-8 CSV settings.

For vendor files, send them the validation report — specific row and column errors speed up their fix cycle.