VS Code Extensions
peek-a-json

peek-a-json

by timx

Preview escaped JSON strings as readable, formatted JSON with a single hover in VS Code, with one-click copying to the clipboard.

Downloads

13

Rating

5.0 / 5 (1)

Version

1.1.0

Last updated

Apr 04, 2026

Peek-a-JSON demo

Stop squinting at escape characters. Peek-a-JSON turns ugly, escaped strings into beautiful, readable objects with a single hover.

Features

  • Hover to preview — Hover over any string containing escaped JSON (\"{...}\") and see it formatted as a readable JSON code block
  • Copy to clipboard — Click the copy icon in the hover tooltip to copy the formatted JSON to your clipboard
  • Works everywhere — Activates on all file types, since escaped JSON can appear in logs, source code, configs, and more

Example

Given a string like:

"{\"name\":\"Alice\",\"age\":30}"

Hover over it and see:

{
  "name": "Alice",
  "age": 30
}

Requirements

  • VS Code 1.110.0 or later

Usage

  1. Open any file containing an escaped JSON string
  2. Hover over the string
  3. View the formatted JSON in the hover tooltip
  4. Optionally click the copy icon to copy it