JSON.parse() and .json()

Jeff P
1 min readFeb 26, 2024

JSON.parse() and .json() are both methods used to work with JSON data in JavaScript, but they serve different purposes and are used in different contexts.

JSON.parse()

  • JSON.parse() is a built-in JavaScript function that parses a JSON string and converts it into a JavaScript object.
  • It can be used to convert JSON data received from various sources (e.g., from an API, from local storage) into a format that can be manipulated and used within a JavaScript program.
  • Unlike .json(), JSON.parse() is not specific to any particular API or context; it can be used anywhere in a JavaScript program where JSON data needs to be parsed.
const jsonString = '{"name": "John", "age": 30}';
const data = JSON.parse(jsonString);
console.log(data.name); // Output: John
console.log(data.age); // Output: 30

.json()

  • .json() is a method typically used with the fetch() API in modern web development. It is used to extract JSON data from a response object returned by the fetch() function.
  • It parses the JSON response body and returns a promise that resolves to the parsed JSON data.
  • This method is specific to working with the fetch() API and is not available in other contexts.
fetch('https://example.com/data.json')
.then(response => response.json())
.then(data => console.log(data))
.catch(error => console.error('Error fetching data:', error));

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Jeff P

I tend to write about anything I find interesting. There’s not much more to it than that really :-)