Share JSON without a server.
Every JSONZen tool can copy a link that encodes your input plus your settings. The payload lives in the URL fragment — browsers never send it anywhere.
Anatomy of a share URL
https://jsonzen.dev/format#eyJ2IjoyLCJpIjoie1xubmFtZS4uLg…
- path
- picks the tool
- # (fragment)
- not sent to the server, ever
- payload
- base64url JSON · v2 envelope
The privacy story, in one paragraph
When you click Share in any JSONZen tool, your input and current settings are JSON-encoded, base64url-encoded, and stuffed into the URL fragment. The browser never sends the fragment to the server — not on the initial request, not in HTTP referrer headers. The recipient's browser decodes the fragment locally. No JSONZen server ever sees the content.
What the envelope contains
We use a small versioned envelope: { v, i, c } — a schema version, the input string, and the optional tool config. The version field lets us evolve the format without breaking old links.
v — protocol version (currently 2)i — your input, verbatimc — tool-specific config object (e.g. { indent: 2, sortKeys: true } for Format)
Limits
Pre-encoded payloads are capped at 32,768 bytes. Browsers can handle longer URLs, but most chat and email clients truncate around 2–8 KB. For larger blobs, host them yourself and link to a gist.
Standard encoding
The encoding is plain base64url + a JSON envelope — no custom crypto. The decoder runs entirely in your browser, so even our hosting provider never sees what was shared.
Frequently asked questions.
- Where does the payload live?
- In the URL fragment (the part after #). Browsers never send the fragment to a server, so even our hosting provider has no way to see what you shared.
- Is anything stored on a server?
- No. JSONZen has no backend. Static files are served from a CDN, but the share link decodes entirely in your browser.
- Can the recipient see what tool settings I had on?
- Yes — that is the whole point of v2 share links. The link encodes both your input and the config (indent width, sort-keys, validator strictness, etc.) so the recipient sees exactly what you saw.
- How big can a share link be?
- 32 KB of raw input on Free, 256 KB on Pro. URLs above ~8 KB risk truncation in chat apps and email clients, so a 32 KB blob still loads in a browser but may break when pasted into Slack or email.
- Are old (v1) share links still readable?
- Yes. v1 was a raw base64url-encoded input string; v2 wraps the input plus config in an envelope. The decoder tries v2 first and falls back to v1, so old links keep working.
- Why not just paste the JSON into Slack?
- Three reasons. (1) Long JSON blobs make conversations unreadable. (2) Some chat apps reformat or truncate code blocks. (3) A link preserves the exact tool you were in and the settings you used.