Most formatters can make structured data valid.

Pretty Objects helps make it readable.

It adds VS Code tools for formatting, inspecting, folding, splitting, and conservatively repairing JSON, JSONL, and embedded object literals, so large payloads are less painful to review.

If you work with AI datasets, backend logs, nested API responses, or giant config blobs, you already know the problem.

The data may be technically correct, but still absolutely awful to inspect.

That is the problem this extension is built for.

Install from the VS Code Marketplace

Messy structured payload lands in your editor
  -> Pretty Objects reformats or inspects it
  -> noise gets reduced
  -> review gets faster

General-purpose formatters are great at consistency.

Pretty Objects goes one step further for structured payload workflows.

It focuses on scanability, inspection, and safe cleanup, especially when the data is large, nested, or embedded inside source code.

"Valid" and "pleasant to work with" are not the same thing.

Pretty Objects adds commands to:

• prettify full documents or selected structured literals
• inspect JSONL and arrays one item at a time in an object viewer
• convert JSONL into a more review-friendly view
• collapse deeply nested objects using editor folding
• conservatively repair slightly malformed payloads
• split oversized files into smaller parts for easier handling

That makes it useful for both standalone data files and object literals living inside real source code.

This tool is especially handy for:

• developers reviewing large JSON or JSONL files
• engineers debugging nested backend payloads
• AI or data workflows involving dataset cleanup
• programmers who keep object literals inside TypeScript, JavaScript, or Python files

The project came from a simple frustration: standard formatting often makes data prettier without making it easier to understand.

Pretty Objects was designed around readability first.

It tries to preserve the style of the source language where possible and stays conservative when editing real code files, because "helpful" tooling stops being helpful the second it rewrites too much.

Structured payload review is one of those tasks that can quietly eat a lot of engineering time.

Small improvements here pay off in:

• faster debugging
• cleaner datasets
• easier log inspection
• less editor suffering in general

Very noble goals.

No. It is focused on structured payload readability and inspection rather than replacing a general project formatter.

Yes. That is one of its main use cases.

• Visual Studio Marketplace: Anthonykung.pretty-objects
• Source code: Anthonykung/pretty-objects

Pretty Objects is built for a very specific feeling:

"Why is this payload technically fine and still so annoying to read?"

If you know that feeling, this tool is for you.