FormatArc Journal

Notes on data formats

Short, practical articles on JSON, YAML, CSV and Markdown — debugging tips, format quirks, and how the tools on this site are built.

JSON to CSV — Nested Objects, Arrays and Nulls Measured on 4 Converters

Convert JSON to CSV in your browser with no upload. We ran the same 15 JSON inputs through FormatArc, json-2-csv, Miller and pandas: see exactly where they disagree on nested objects, arrays, missing keys and nulls.

2026-07-26JSON#JSON#CSV

Migrate Articles Between Dev.to, Hashnode, and Medium — What Each Export Gives You

Dev.to stores Markdown, Hashnode exports JSON (plus per-article Markdown via .md URLs), Medium hands you HTML. How to get your posts out, rebuild front matter, keep canonical URLs, and convert leftover HTML to Markdown in your browser.

2026-07-20HTML#Markdown#migration

Gmail & Outlook Email to Markdown — No Upload

Convert Gmail, Outlook, and .eml email to Markdown in your browser, nothing uploaded. Measured: pasting the full source collapses into a 12-column table.

2026-07-17HTML#Markdown#HTML

Markdown Escape Characters: Complete List + 22 Tested Examples

See which Markdown characters need a backslash, which don't, and where escaping fails entirely. Every claim is tested against GitHub's renderer, marked, remark-gfm, and strict CommonMark — 22 cases in all.

2026-07-15Markdown#Markdown#escaping

WordPress to Markdown Migration — With or Without Node.js

Three ways to migrate WordPress posts to Markdown: bulk-convert the export XML with a CLI, use an exporter plugin, or convert post HTML in your browser with nothing uploaded. Covers images, shortcodes, and frontmatter cleanup.

2026-07-12HTML#WordPress#Markdown

Notion Export to Markdown — Fix UUIDs & Callouts, No Upload

Two paths from Notion to clean Markdown: fix the Markdown & CSV ZIP export (UUIDs, callouts, synced blocks), or export as HTML and convert in your browser — no upload.

2026-07-06HTML#Notion#Markdown

Markdown Frontmatter YAML to JSON — 5 SSGs, 5 YAML Traps, No Upload

Convert Markdown frontmatter YAML to JSON in the browser. SSG matrix for Hugo, Jekyll, Astro, Next.js, Eleventy, 5 breaking types (Norway problem, dates, anchors), JSON→YAML round-trip.

2026-06-22YAML#Markdown#frontmatter

API JSON to Markdown Table — curl, jq, Pagination, 6 Response Shapes

Turn API responses into Markdown tables with curl + jq. Covers 6 API shapes ranked by difficulty, pagination joining, nested flattening, and a browser-only workflow that never uploads your data.

2026-06-21CSV#API#JSON

YAML vs Markdown vs JSON vs CSV: Data Format Comparison

Compare YAML vs Markdown, JSON, and CSV in one page: decision matrix, feature comparison, comment support, parser ecosystem, LLM context guidance, and the same data shown in all four formats.

2026-06-18JSON#JSON#YAML

Paste HTML as Markdown — Clean Copy from Web, Remove Spans / Inline Styles / Word Cruft (Browser)

Clean copy from web to Markdown: convert messy HTML from Word, Google Docs, ChatGPT, or web pages into clean Markdown. Remove spans, inline styles, classes, and Word-specific markup in your browser — no upload.

2026-06-16HTML#HTML#Markdown

Markdown Table Not Rendering or Broken? Fix It by Symptom

Markdown table not rendering or broken? Use parser-tested fixes for column counts, blank lines, and pipe escapes — or rebuild from CSV in your browser, no upload.

2026-06-14Markdown#Markdown#table

JSON Trailing Comma: Find the Line, Delete One Character

One comma before } or ] breaks the parse. Compare the Node.js and Python messages, find the line in a browser-only formatter, and check which of JSONC and JSON5 still accept it.

2026-06-08JSON#JSON#errors

HTML Table to Markdown — Handle Pipes & Line Breaks (No Upload)

Paste an HTML table and get a GitHub-Flavored Markdown table in your browser. Pipes (|), line breaks, and ragged rows are handled safely — nothing uploaded.

2026-06-06HTML#HTML#Markdown

Excel to Markdown Table Converter — Paste Cells, No Upload

Paste cells from Excel or Google Sheets and get a Markdown table. Also covers the way back: why pipes never split into Excel columns, and the tab swap that fixes it.

2026-06-05CSV#Excel#Markdown

How to Convert JSON to a Markdown Table — Arrays, API Responses, Nested Data

Turn a JSON array of objects into a Markdown table. Verify the structure, convert through CSV for a reliable result, handle API responses, and flatten nested JSON — all in the browser.

2026-06-02CSV#JSON#Markdown

Online JSON Converter Security: 5 Checks Before Pasting Secrets (2025 Breach Data)

Online converter security checklist. 2025 breach analysis (watchTowr disclosure of jsonformatter.com / codebeautify.org data leak) plus a 5-step DevTools verification to confirm browser-side processing yourself. Safer alternatives: jq, yq, offline tools.

2026-06-02JSON#security#JSON

Markdown vs HTML for LLMs: ~70% Fewer Tokens, and Your HTML Stays Local

Markdown beats HTML for LLM prompts on token cost (-71% in our measured benchmark, -68 to -87% in published reports) and table extraction accuracy. See where HTML is still the right pick, and convert in your browser so internal HTML never leaves the tab.

2026-05-21HTML#Markdown#HTML

CommonMark vs GFM (2026): Tables Extension & 6 Renderers Tested

Tables are a GFM extension, not CommonMark core. We ran 6 parsers on tables, strikethrough, task lists, bare URLs and footnotes, and recorded the HTML each emits.

2026-05-13Markdown#Markdown#CommonMark

GFM Table Cheat Sheet: Empty Cells, Alignment, Line Breaks & Pipe Escapes

Copy-paste GFM table examples: alignment, empty cells, <br> line breaks, escaped pipes, and why merged cells need HTML — plus GitHub, GitLab, Obsidian & Notion.

2026-05-13CSV#Markdown#GFM

GitHub README Table: Make One from CSV or JSON

Create a GitHub README table from CSV or JSON without hand-writing pipes. Paste data, convert to GFM Markdown, and keep everything in your browser.

2026-04-27CSV#GitHub#README

HTML to Markdown Guide: Tags, Tables, Tools & Limits

Convert HTML to Markdown in your browser or with Pandoc, Turndown, Python, and Go. Compare tag handling, tables, common fixes, and formatting limits.

2026-04-27HTML#HTML#Markdown

GitHub Markdown Table Syntax: Pipes, Hyphens & Alignment

Do Markdown tables need three dashes? Tested on GitHub, marked, and remark-gfm: one dash renders fine. What actually breaks tables — and why CommonMark shows none.

2026-04-27CSV#Markdown#table

How to Convert CSV to a Markdown Table

Convert CSV data into a GitHub Flavored Markdown table for READMEs, issues, and documentation. Browser-based, no signup, no upload.

2026-04-17CSV#CSV#Markdown

Markdown to HTML in JavaScript — marked.js, markdown-it, Pandoc (with GFM)

Compare browser-based, Node.js, and Pandoc workflows for converting Markdown to HTML. Code examples for marked.js, markdown-it, npm and CLI options, with GFM tables and task lists.

2026-04-17Markdown#Markdown#HTML

Does JSON Allow Comments? 4 Alternatives That Work

"Comments are not permitted in JSON" means the file is being parsed as strict JSON — RFC 8259 and ECMA-404 both exclude them. Fix it with JSONC, JSON5, a _comment field, or comment stripping.

2026-04-13JSON#JSON#JSONC

YAML Syntax Guide: Indentation, Lists, Types, and Fixing 'Forbidden Block Composed Value'

Learn YAML syntax with examples for indentation, lists, maps, strings, booleans, and nulls. Includes fixes for parser errors in JetBrains/IntelliJ and Helm templates ("forbidden to specify block composed value at the same line as key"), Kubernetes, Docker Compose, and CI files.

2026-04-13YAML#YAML#syntax

Curl Pretty Print JSON: jq, Python, and a No-Upload Browser

Format curl JSON output with jq, python -m json.tool, or a no-upload browser when jq isn't installed. Covers curl -i headers and copy-paste one-liners.

2026-04-10JSON#curl#JSON

Best JSON Viewer/Formatter Chrome Extension 2026

We installed and measured seven Chrome JSON viewer and formatter extensions: only two auto-formatted a 10 MB file. Permissions, size and source compared.

2026-03-25Chrome extension#Chrome extension#JSON

Chrome Extension to Convert JSON, YAML & CSV

A Chrome extension that converts YAML, CSV, Markdown and HTML as well as formatting JSON, from the toolbar. No host permissions, everything runs locally.

2026-03-20Chrome extension#Chrome Extension#JSON

formatarc — Format JSON, YAML & CSV from the Terminal (npm / npx)

Run npx formatarc to format JSON, convert YAML, CSV, Markdown, and HTML from your terminal. Import it as an API in Node.js projects — no browser needed.

2026-03-20CLI#JSON#YAML

JSON Pretty Print — Free Online JSON Formatter, jq & Code Examples (2026)

Pretty-print JSON online in your browser, or format it from the terminal with jq and Python. Free JSON formatter with JSON.stringify examples and parse error fixes.

2026-03-20JSON#JSON#formatting

How to Write JSON: A Complete Syntax Guide

Learn the correct way to write JSON with examples for every data type, nesting patterns, and common mistakes to avoid.

2026-03-20JSON#JSON#syntax

CSV File Format: Structure, Quoting, BOM and Encoding (2026)

A practical guide to the CSV file format: document structure, the header row, RFC 4180 quoting, delimiters, UTF-8 BOM vs Shift-JIS and Windows-1252, Excel auto-formatting traps, and reading CSV with Python pandas.

2026-03-20CSV#CSV#beginners

What is JSON? Syntax, Data Types, and Real-World Uses (2026 Guide)

What is JSON: a 2026 beginner-to-practitioner guide covering syntax, data types, real-world uses (Web APIs, config files, npm), with a quick-reference table for common patterns.

2026-03-20JSON#JSON#beginners

What Is YAML? Syntax, Comments & Practical Examples

YAML basics for beginners: indentation, arrays, comments, and how Kubernetes and GitHub Actions use it. Validate YAML in your browser.

2026-03-20YAML#YAML#beginners

YAML vs JSON: Four Parsers, Four Different Answers (2026)

The same YAML through js-yaml, PyYAML and ruamel.yaml lands as different JSON. See the measured table, plus comments, types, anchors, speed, LLM token cost, and when to choose each format.

2026-03-19YAML#YAML#JSON

JSON Parse Error: 5 Causes and Fixes for Unexpected Token

Fix JSON parse errors fast: "undefined" is not valid JSON, "[object Object]" is not valid JSON, and the older unexpected token u/o at position 0 wording. In-browser, no upload.

2026-03-18Troubleshooting#JSON#errors

Convert YAML to JSON — Python, yq, Browser (Avoid 8 Gotchas)

Convert YAML to JSON three ways: Python one-liner, yq CLI, and browser tool (no upload, no install). Covers 8 conversion gotchas (Norway problem, multi-document YAML, anchors expansion, comments lost), NDJSON streaming, and CI/CD automation.

2026-03-17YAML#YAML#JSON

Convert CSV to JSON — Browser, Python, Node, Go, Miller (No Upload)

Convert CSV to JSON in your browser without uploading data, or with Python, Node.js, Go, Miller, and csvkit. Covers 5 output shapes (NDJSON, nested, keyed), type inference, Shift-JIS/UTF-8 encoding, and large-file streaming.

2026-03-16CSV#CSV#JSON

Convert JSON to YAML — Kubernetes, Docker Compose, Ansible (Browser & CLI)

Convert JSON to YAML for Kubernetes manifests, Docker Compose, Helm values, and Ansible playbooks. Browser tool (no upload), yq, Python, Node.js, Go. Preserves key order, handles block scalars, multi-document output, string quoting, and the Norway problem.

2026-03-15JSON#JSON#YAML