Bonsai JSON Editor for macOS

New in Version 2.0

A major update that transforms Bonsai from a JSON viewer into a complete JSON workbench.

✎ Structural Editing

Add, delete, rename, reorder, and change types with full undo.

🖌 Syntax Highlighting

Color-coded source editor with find/replace.

🛡 Schema Validation

Load a JSON Schema and see violations on tree nodes.

⇼ JSON Diff

Structural comparison of two files with color-coded results.

📦 Multi-Format Export

Export as JSON, CSV, YAML, or Property List.

⬉ Breadcrumb Nav

Clickable path bar for quick ancestor navigation.

⌨ Keyboard Navigation

Arrow keys to navigate, expand, collapse, and delete.

🕐 Query History

Recent jq queries saved and recallable with one click.

👁 QuickLook & Thumbnails

Preview JSON files in Finder with syntax highlighting. No need to open the app.

Carefully crafted for JSON

Everything you need to view, edit, query, validate, and compare JSON data — in one native Mac app.

🌳

Interactive Tree View

Explore JSON as a collapsible, color-coded tree with adaptive dark mode colors. Navigate with arrow keys, right-click for a context menu, and use the breadcrumb bar to jump to any ancestor. A status bar shows live document stats.

⌨

Built-in jq Engine

A complete jq query engine runs locally, right inside the app. Filter, transform, aggregate, and reshape your JSON with live results as you type. Query history saves your recent expressions. No terminal required.

✎

Full Structural Editing

Go beyond inline value edits. Add properties, append array elements, rename keys, reorder items, change types, and delete nodes — all from the context menu with full undo/redo. The "+" button makes adding children quick.

🖌

Syntax-Highlighted Source

The source editor highlights JSON syntax with distinct colors for keys, strings, numbers, booleans, and structural characters. Built on a native NSTextView with find/replace and full editing support.

🛡

JSON Schema Validation

Load a JSON Schema file and instantly see violations highlighted on tree nodes with orange warning badges. A validation panel lists every issue with click-to-navigate. Supports type, required, enum, pattern, ranges, and more.

⇼

Compare & Diff

Open the diff window to compare any two JSON files. Bonsai performs a deep structural comparison and displays results as a color-coded tree — green for additions, red for removals, orange for changes.

📦

Multi-Format Export

Export query results as JSON, CSV, YAML, or Apple Property List. CSV export auto-detects array-of-objects and generates proper column headers. Move data into spreadsheets, config files, or other tools effortlessly.

🔎

Search & Filter

Live search filters the tree as you type, matching key names and values. Parent nodes stay visible so you never lose structural context. Large containers are paginated for performance.

🎓

Interactive Tutorial

Learn jq hands-on with 40+ guided lessons across 9 categories. Each step explains a concept, lets you run a query against sample data, and tracks your progress.

👁

QuickLook & Finder Thumbnails

Press Space on any JSON file in Finder to see a syntax-highlighted preview — no need to open the app. JSON file icons in Finder also display a rich thumbnail with colored code, so you can identify files at a glance.

See it in action

Tree View

Your JSON, organized

Bonsai renders every JSON file as a navigable tree with adaptive dark mode colors. A breadcrumb bar shows your position, keyboard arrows let you navigate without the mouse, and right-click opens a context menu with editing actions. The status bar shows live document stats.

Source View

Syntax-highlighted editing

The source editor now features full syntax highlighting — keys in bold, strings in green, numbers in blue, booleans in orange. Edit directly as source text with find/replace, undo support, and live reparsing. Format or Minify in one click.

jq Tutorial

Learn by doing

New to jq? The built-in tutorial walks you through 40+ lessons — from basic field access to complex multi-step pipelines. Each lesson explains the concept, provides an editable query, and lets you run it against real sample data with a single click.

Reference

Documentation at your fingertips

A comprehensive jq reference covers every supported filter, operator, and builtin function with clear examples. Feature documentation, keyboard shortcuts, and usage guides are always one click away.

QuickLook

Preview without opening

Press Space on any JSON file in Finder and get a full syntax-highlighted preview instantly. Keys appear in bold, strings in green, numbers in blue, booleans in orange. JSON file icons also show rich thumbnails with colored code so you can identify files at a glance.

A complete jq engine, built in

80+ builtin functions. No dependencies, no terminal, no setup. Just type a query and see results.

Filtering & Selection

select() — filter by condition
map() — transform elements
sort_by() — sort by field
group_by() — group elements
unique_by() — deduplicate
flatten — flatten arrays
first / last
limit() / nth()
range() — generate sequences

Objects & Strings

keys / values / has()
to_entries / from_entries
with_entries()
contains() / inside()
del() — remove fields
split() / join()
test() / match() — regex
sub() / gsub() — replace
startswith() / endswith()

Aggregation & Math

add / length
min / max
min_by() / max_by()
any() / all()
abs / floor / ceil
sqrt / round
type — value type
tojson / fromjson
if-then-else / try-catch