Common JSON Errors | Yext Hitchhikers Platform

What You’ll Learn

In this section, you will learn:

Common issues to be aware of when working with JSON
Examples of good and bad formatting

Common Syntax Errors

Missing quotation marks - Every key and value typically needs to be contained in quotation marks, unless you are specifying a value of type number or literal.

Good formatting:

{
 "key1": "value1",
 "key2": "value2",
 "key3Literal": true,
 "key4Number": 100,
 "key5": "15px"
}

Bad formatting:

{
 key1: "value1", // key does not have quotations
 "key2": textvalue, // value does not have quotations
 "key3Literal": "true", // literal should not have quotations
 "key4Number": "100" // number should not have quotations
 "key5": 15px //needs quotations as this is not only a number
}

Missing commas - All key/value pairs must be separated by commas. Do not put a comma after the last item in an array or object.

Good formatting:

{
 "key1": "value1",
 "key2": "value2",
 "key3Literal": true,
 "key4Number": 100
}

Bad formatting - Missing Commas:

{
 key1: "value1"
 "key2": textvalue
 "key3Literal": "true"
 "key4Number": "100"
}

Bad formatting - Trailing Comma:

{
 key1: "value1",
 "key2": textvalue,
 "key3Literal": "true",
 "key4Number": "100",
}

Unclosed Dictionaries and Arrays - Make sure you have closing curly brackets { } and square brackets [ ] for your dictionaries and arrays.

Incorrect Casing - JSON keys are case sensitive, so make sure to match the expected casing of your keys when interacting with JSON files.

Note

A helpful tool to validate your JSON is JSONLint .

unit Quiz

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Question 1 of 2

What is wrong with the JSON below? (Select all that apply)

{
  color: "red"
  display: true
}

Keys are not contained in quotation marks

There is no comma separating the key/value pairs

‘True’ is not contained in quotation marks

Question 2 of 2

What is wrong with the JSON below? (Select all that apply)

{
  "type": "faq",
  "name": "Frequently Asked Questions", 
  "isExpandable": "false",
}

Keys do not need quotation marks

There is a trailing comma on the last item

False should not have quotation marks if the field is a literal

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