INI to JSON Converter

INI to JSON Converter – clean, accurate, and private

Experience

INI files are everywhere: legacy apps, game configs, Windows services, Docker images, and quick environment setups. They are simple for humans to edit, but they are not ideal for APIs and modern pipelines that expect JSON. When you need to plug a vendor config into an API, push settings to a remote service, or diff configuration changes in CI, rewriting INI by hand is slow and error-prone. The INI to JSON Converter on FreeAiToolsOnline.com solves this daily friction: paste or drop an INI file, get standards-respecting JSON immediately, and export it in the format your tooling expects.

Expertise

A reliable converter must understand how INI behaves in the wild, not just the simplest key=value pairs. This tool is designed for real configurations and edge cases:

• Sections and nesting
  • [section] blocks become top-level JSON objects.
  • key=value pairs inside a section become object properties under that section.
  • Keys outside any section map to a top-level object named root or directly to the root (configurable).
• Comments and whitespace
  • Lines starting with ; or # are ignored. Inline comments after values are handled safely. Excess whitespace is trimmed.
• Type inference
  • Numbers, booleans, and null-like tokens (true, false, yes, no, on, off, null) are converted to proper JSON types.
  • Unambiguous integers and floats are kept numeric. Otherwise values remain strings to avoid data loss.
• Lists and repeated keys
  • Values like a,b,c can be interpreted as arrays when list mode is enabled.
  • Repeated keys are merged into arrays (e.g., multiple plugin= lines).
  • Optional strict mode preserves only the last value to match legacy parsers.
• Subkeys and dotted names
  • Keys like database.host can be expanded to nested objects ({database:{host:"..."}}) when dot expansion is enabled.
• Normalization tools
  • Beautify or minify JSON.
  • Stable key sort for cleaner diffs.
  • Optional lowercasing of section and key names for consistency.
• End-to-end ergonomics
  • Paste, upload, or drag-drop INI.
  • Clear error messages with the line number that failed.
  • One-click copy, print, download, and share.
  • Sample INI datasets for fast learning.
  • Autosave remembers the last session and options.

Authoritativeness

The converter follows widely used parsing rules from common ecosystems (Python configparser, Node ini, and .NET patterns) while providing explicit toggles for behaviors that differ between implementations (list splitting, repeated keys, dotted expansion, and root handling). By making defaults sensible and options transparent, the tool becomes a credible bridge for teams moving between legacy INI configs and JSON-first systems. Documentation in the UI explains exactly how each option affects the result, so engineers can reproduce the same output in scripts and CI jobs.

Trustworthiness

All parsing and conversion run entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, logged, or stored on our servers. The output panel shows exactly what changed, and alerts use plain language like “Invalid line at 42: missing key before equals.” You can toggle inference modes off for maximum safety when working with production settings. The interface is responsive, keyboard-friendly, and optimized for quick, repeat use—colorful buttons for key actions, pastel feature cards for at-a-glance guidance, and a namespaced stylesheet to avoid clashes with your site.

Key Benefits

• Convert INI sections and keys into valid JSON instantly.
• Optional: infer types, split lists, expand dotted keys, and deduplicate repeated keys.
• Beautify, minify, and stable-sort resulting JSON.
• Import via paste, upload, or drag-drop; export via copy, print, download, or share.
• Private by design—everything stays in your browser.

How to Use

1. Paste or drop your INI file.
2. Pick options: dot expansion, list mode, repeated-key behavior, stable sort.
3. Click Convert to produce JSON.
4. Review and export using the action buttons.

Practical Examples

• Windows service configs to JSON for API ingestion.
• Game settings to structured JSON for dashboards and diffing.
• Legacy app INI to JSON for containerized environments.
• DevOps pipelines where JSON is required for secrets or templating engines.

FAQs

Does it handle comments and blank lines Yes, both are ignored safely.
Can I keep everything as strings Yes—disable type inference to preserve exact text.
What about repeated keys Choose array merge or last-value wins.
Are dotted keys expanded Enable dot expansion to turn a.b.c=1 into nested objects.
Is my data uploaded No; everything is processed in your browser.