JSON Key Sorter

Sort JSON object keys alphabetically with recursive and depth options

What is it and how does it work?

JSON keys are technically unordered according to the specification — but in practice, consistent key ordering makes JSON easier to read, compare, and diff. When keys appear in random order across two versions of a config file, a git diff becomes noise instead of signal. Sorting JSON keys alphabetically before committing makes reviews cleaner and reduces merge conflicts. This tool recursively sorts all keys at every level of nesting.

Beyond git diffs, sorted JSON is helpful for canonical serialisation (ensuring two JSON objects with the same content produce the same string for signing or caching), for enforcing style guidelines in config files, and for making large JSON documents navigable without a tree viewer. The tool also formats the output with configurable indentation.

Common use cases

• Config file normalisation: sort package.json, tsconfig.json, or .eslintrc keys alphabetically to ensure consistent ordering across your team and reduce pointless reorder diffs.
• Canonical hashing: when computing a hash or signature over JSON content, sort keys first so that {"b":1,"a":2} and {"a":2,"b":1} produce the same hash.
• API response comparison: sort keys in two API responses before diffing them to focus on value changes rather than key reordering noise.

Frequently asked questions

Does the JSON spec define key ordering?

No. The JSON specification (RFC 8259) explicitly states that object keys are unordered. However, most parsers preserve insertion order in practice, and many developers rely on this. Sorted JSON is a matter of style and diffability, not correctness.

Does sorting affect array elements?

No. Arrays are ordered by definition — rearranging array elements would change the data. The sorter sorts object keys only; array elements remain in their original order.

How does sorting handle nested objects?

Recursively. Every object at every depth of nesting has its keys sorted. A deeply nested config like {"z": {"y": 1, "a": 2}} becomes {"z": {"a": 2, "y": 1}} — the inner object keys are sorted too.

Can I sort by value instead of by key?

Sorting JSON by value doesn't have a universal meaning for objects (what does it mean to order keys by their corresponding value types?). For arrays of primitives, value sorting is well-defined. For key-value object sorting, only key-alphabetic sort is universally useful.

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