Free, browser-based utilities for everyday developer workflows

Infer a Schema from JSON

Paste any JSON payload — even a deeply nested API response — and get an inferred structural schema with property names, types, and optional fields.

Try it now

Open Schema Inspector with a ready-to-run example.

Try it now
When you need this
  • You receive a response from an undocumented or poorly documented third-party API and need to understand its structure.
  • You want a head start on writing an OpenAPI component schema for an existing API.
  • A colleague has sent you a large JSON blob and you need a quick overview without reading every field.
  • You are generating TypeScript types or database columns from a JSON payload.
How to do it with Daily Developer Tools
  • Paste the JSON payload into the Schema Inspector input.
  • The tool recursively analyses the structure and displays types for every property.
  • Fields that appear in some array items but not others are marked as optional.
  • Export the inferred JSON Schema and refine it with required and validation constraints.
Tips / common pitfalls
  • Inference is based on the values present — if a field is always null in your sample, the inferred type will be null, not the actual data type.
  • Paste multiple representative responses to get more accurate optional/required detection for array items.
  • The inferred schema has no validation constraints (min, max, enum) — you must add those manually.
  • For deeply nested objects, use the tree view to navigate rather than scrolling through raw JSON Schema output.
Examples & test data

Nested API response with array

Input JSON
{
  "user": {
    "id": 101,
    "name": "Alice",
    "email": "alice@example.com",
    "roles": ["admin", "editor"],
    "address": {
      "city": "London",
      "country": "GB"
    }
  },
  "meta": {
    "page": 1,
    "total": 42
  }
}
Inferred schema (summary)
user:
  id      integer
  name    string
  email   string
  roles   array of string
  address:
    city    string
    country string
meta:
  page    integer
  total   integer
FAQ
What is schema inference?

Schema inference analyses a JSON value and produces a structural description — property names, data types, nesting, and optional versus required fields based on what is present in the sample data.

Does it handle arrays of objects?

Yes. For arrays of objects the inspector merges all element shapes and marks fields that appear in only some elements as optional in the resulting items schema.

Can I use this for API documentation?

Yes. Export the inferred JSON Schema and use it as a starting point for an OpenAPI component schema. Add descriptions, examples, and constraints before including it in your spec.

i Privacy-first: runs locally in your browser. No uploads.

How to infer a schema from JSON

Paste your JSON into the Schema Inspector and the tool immediately analyses it, displaying a type breakdown for every property — including nested objects and arrays. You can export the result as a JSON Schema document.

Common use cases

Integration developers use this when onboarding a new API with no schema documentation. Technical writers use it to bootstrap OpenAPI component schemas from real payloads. Backend developers use it to rapidly understand the structure of a database dump or third-party feed before writing transformation code.

Why run this in your browser?

All processing happens locally in your browser. Your data never leaves your machine, making it safe for sensitive payloads, internal API responses, and confidential configurations.