JSON Escape Tool

Escape special characters in strings for safe JSON embedding — runs locally in your browser

What Is JSON Escaping?

JSON escaping is the process of converting special characters in strings into their escaped representations so they can be safely included in JSON documents. The JSON specification (RFC 8259) requires certain characters to be escaped with a backslash prefix: double quotes become \" , backslashes become \\ , newlines become \n, tabs become \t, and control characters use \u followed by four hex digits.

Without proper escaping, special characters break JSON syntax. A double quote inside a string value prematurely terminates the string, a raw newline creates invalid multi-line strings, and unescaped backslashes cause parser errors. JSON escaping ensures that any arbitrary text can be safely embedded as a string value within a valid JSON document, preserving the exact content while maintaining syntactic correctness for all JSON parsers.

How to Escape JSON Strings Online

1. Paste your raw text containing special characters into the input field
2. Click Escape to convert all special characters to their JSON-safe equivalents
3. Review the escaped output where quotes, backslashes, and control characters are properly prefixed
4. Copy the escaped string and embed it directly in your JSON document
5. Use the Unescape button to reverse the process and recover the original text

Why Use PinusX for JSON Escaping?

PinusX handles all escaping with 100% client-side processing in your browser. Your raw text and escaped output never leave your device. This is particularly important when escaping strings that contain passwords, API keys, private messages, or code snippets — data you cannot risk exposing to third-party servers. In November 2025, jsonformatter.org leaked over 80,000 credentials that users had pasted for processing. PinusX was built specifically to prevent this class of vulnerability. All character conversion happens locally using JavaScript in your browser tab, with zero network requests to external servers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which characters need to be escaped in JSON?

The JSON spec requires escaping double quotes (\"), backslashes (\\), and control characters (U+0000 through U+001F). Control characters include newline (\n), carriage return (\r), tab (\t), backspace (\b), and form feed (\f). Forward slashes can optionally be escaped as \/ but this is not required.

How do I escape a JSON string in JavaScript?

In JavaScript, JSON.stringify() automatically escapes a string when you pass it as a value. For example, JSON.stringify("He said \"hi\"") produces a properly escaped JSON string. Our tool provides a visual interface for the same operation without writing code.

What is the difference between JSON escape and URL encoding?

JSON escaping converts characters for safe inclusion in JSON strings using backslash sequences. URL encoding (percent encoding) converts characters for safe inclusion in URLs using percent-hex sequences like %20. They serve different purposes and use completely different encoding schemes.

Can I escape multi-line text for JSON?

Yes. Our tool converts actual newlines to \n escape sequences, carriage returns to \r, and tabs to \t. The result is a single-line JSON-safe string that preserves the original line structure when parsed back by a JSON parser.

Does escaping change the string content?

No. Escaping changes only the representation, not the content. When a JSON parser reads an escaped string, it converts the escape sequences back to the original characters. The round trip is lossless — escape then unescape returns exactly the original text.

Your data never leaves your browser. 100% client-side processing.