JSON Unescape
Strip backslash escape sequences from a JSON-encoded string — turning \" back into quotes, \n into real newlines, \t into tabs, and \\ into a single backslash. Optionally auto-detect and remove surrounding quote wrappers so you don't have to strip them manually. A pretty-print mode further parses the unescaped result as JSON and formats it with indentation — all processing happens live in your browser as you type.
Escaped JSON String
Mode
Unescaped Result
What is JSON String Unescaper?
Escaped JSON strings appear everywhere logs are involved: serialised payloads written to application logs, double-encoded webhook bodies forwarded through relay services, JSON fields stored in VARCHAR database columns retrieved via an ORM. They look like valid strings but they are actually JSON-in-a-box: the curly braces are present but wrapped in a string encoding that hides them from JSON parsers. Pasting escaped JSON into a formatter just shows you a string value — not the object. This tool specifically reverses that encoding: it strips outer quotes, resolves all backslash escape sequences (", \, , , , \uXXXX), and parses the result into a formatted, syntax-highlighted JSON object. It handles both single-escaped strings (one layer of JSON.stringify()) and double-escaped strings (two layers — common in log pipelines and message queues that serialise events twice). The output can be fed directly into any JSON tool for further processing.
How to Use
- 1
Paste Your Escaped JSON String
Paste the escaped JSON string — the kind with \" for quotes and \\ for backslashes. This is typically copied from a log file, database column, environment variable, or an API response field whose value is itself a JSON string.
- 2
Set Unescape Options
Choose whether to strip surrounding outer double quotes before unescaping, handle double-escaped strings (two levels of escaping), and select the output indentation level for the resulting JSON.
- 3
Unescape the String
Click "Unescape". All \" sequences become ", \\\\ become \\, \\n become newlines, and \\uXXXX sequences become their Unicode characters — recovering the original readable JSON.
- 4
Review and Copy the JSON
The unescaped, formatted JSON appears in the output panel. Copy it for debugging, use it in a JSON formatter, or paste it into your code editor for further inspection.
Common Use Cases
Log File JSON Extraction
Application logs often contain JSON payloads written as escaped strings. Unescape them to recover the original readable JSON for debugging, analysis, or re-processing.
Double-Encoded API Response Parsing
Some APIs return JSON-in-JSON — a JSON string whose value is itself an escaped JSON string. Unescape the inner value to access the actual structured data without manual find-and-replace.
Database Text Field Retrieval
JSON stored in VARCHAR or TEXT database columns is often escaped. Unescape the retrieved string to restore the original JSON structure before parsing or displaying it.
Webhook Payload Inspection
Webhook payloads forwarded through message queues or event buses sometimes arrive double-escaped. Unescape the payload string to inspect the original JSON event structure during integration debugging.
Conversion Examples
Escaped JSON String → Parsed JSON
Backslash escapes are removed to restore the original JSON structure.
Input JSON
{"name":"Alice","role":"admin","active":true}Output CSV
{
"name": "Alice",
"role": "admin",
"active": true
}Double-Escaped JSON → Readable JSON
Two levels of escaping are resolved to reveal the inner JSON object.
Input JSON
{\"user\":{\"id\":1,\"name\":\"Alice\"},\"action\":\"login\"}Output CSV
{
"user": {
"id": 1,
"name": "Alice"
},
"action": "login"
}