JSON flattener

What is JSON flattening?

JSON flattening converts nested objects into a single level of keys so the shape is easier to inspect, export, and compare. A nested path like customer.address.city becomes a direct field instead of something you have to drill into manually.

That makes flattened JSON much easier to work with in spreadsheets, CSV exports, SQL staging tables, and debugging workflows where you need a quick view of every available field.

When to flatten nested JSON

• Reviewing API responses before mapping them into a table
• Preparing event payloads for CSV export or spreadsheet analysis
• Inspecting webhook bodies that include deeply nested objects
• Comparing records that share a core schema but vary in nested fields
• Checking how wide a semi-structured dataset becomes after flattening

How array handling changes the output

Expanded arrays create indexed keys such as items.0.sku and tags.1. This is useful when you want each nested field to be addressable on its own. Preserving arrays as JSON strings keeps them in a single column, which is often cleaner when arrays are long or irregular.

Why separator choice matters

Dot notation is the most familiar default, but underscore and slash separators can be more convenient for spreadsheets, shell tools, or downstream systems that do not treat dots well in field names.

From flattened payloads to instant insights

If you are flattening JSON just to load it into a report or dashboard, Basedash can often skip that prep work. Connect your data source, describe the chart or metric you want, and Basedash writes the query, runs it, and renders the result in seconds.