README.md

jsonstruct

jsonstruct is both a library and a command line tool to produce Go structs based on example JSON text. I just refactored this pretty heavily, so there may still be bugs. It uses gofumpt to format its output.

Installation

go install github.com/cneill/jsonstruct/cmd/jsonstruct@latest

Usage

NAME:
   jsonstruct - generate Go structs for JSON values

USAGE:
   jsonstruct [global options] command [command options] [FILE]...

DESCRIPTION:
   You can either pass in files as args or JSON in STDIN. Results are printed to STDOUT.

COMMANDS:
   http     run a web app to generate structs in the browser
   help, h  Shows a list of commands or help for one command

GLOBAL OPTIONS:
   --name value, -n value    override the default name derived from filename
   --value-comments, -c      add a comment to struct fields with the example value(s) (default: false)
   --sort-fields, -s         sort the fields in alphabetical order; default behavior is to mirror input (default: false)
   --inline-structs, -i      use inline structs instead of creating different types for each object (default: false)
   --print-filenames, -f     print the filename above the structs defined within (default: false)
   --out-file FILE, -o FILE  write the results to FILE
   --debug, -d               enable debug logs (default: false)
   --help, -h                show help

Examples

Webapp

The http command allows you to run a webapp to generate these structs in the browser.

JSON object

Input:

{
    "currency": "value",
    "amount": 4.267,
    "map": {
        "something": "nothing",
        "this": true
    },
    "array": [
        1,
        2,
        3,
        4
    ],
    "string_array": [
        "string",
        "string2",
        "string3"
    ],
    "CamelKey": "blah",
    "blahBlahBlah": "blah",
    "structs": [
        {
            "stuff": "stuff"
        },
        {
            "stuff": "stuff2"
        },
        {
            "stuff": "stuff3",
            "differentStuff": "differentStuff"
        }
    ],
    "nested_numbers": [
        [1, 2, 3],
        [2, 3, 4],
        [3, 4, 5]
    ],
    "nothing": null
}

Output:

type Stdin1 struct {
        Currency      string   `json:"currency"`
        Amount        float64  `json:"amount"`
        Map           *Map     `json:"map"`
        Array         []int64  `json:"array"`
        StringArray   []string `json:"string_array"`
        CamelKey      string
        BlahBlahBlah  string           `json:"blahBlahBlah"`
        Structs       []*Structs       `json:"structs"`
        NestedNumbers [][]int64        `json:"nested_numbers"`
        Nothing       *json.RawMessage `json:"nothing"`
}

type Map struct {
        Something string `json:"something"`
        This      bool   `json:"this"`
}

type Structs struct {
        Stuff          string `json:"stuff"`
        DifferentStuff string `json:"differentStuff,omitempty"`
}

JSON array of objects

Input:

[
    {
        "stuff": "stuff"
    },
    {
        "stuff": "stuff2"
    },
    {
        "stuff": "stuff3",
        "differentStuff": "differentStuff"
    },
    {
        "stuff": 1,
        "differentStuff": "blah"
    }
]

Output:

type Stdin1 struct {
        Stuff          *json.RawMessage `json:"stuff"`
        DifferentStuff string           `json:"differentStuff,omitempty"`
}

Value comments (-c)

Input:

{
  "test_bool": true,
  "test_int64": 1234,
  "test_float64": 1234.0,
  "test_string": "test",
  "test_array_of_bool": [true, false, true],
  "test_array_of_int64": [1, 2, 3, 4],
  "test_array_of_float64": [1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0],
  "test_array_of_string": ["test1", "test2", "test3"],
  "test_struct": {
    "test_string": "test",
    "test_array_of_string": ["test1", "test2", "test3"]
  },
  "test_array_of_struct": [
    {
      "test_string": "test1",
      "test_optional_string": "test1"
    },
    {
      "test_string": "test2",
      "test_optional_string": "test2"
    },
    {
      "test_string": "test3"
    },
    {
      "test_string": "test4"
    }
  ],
  "test_garbage_array": [1, "1", 1.0],
  "terrible-name.for_a.key": "test"
}

Output:

type Stdin1 struct {
        TestBool            bool                 `json:"test_bool"`             // Example: true
        TestInt64           int64                `json:"test_int64"`            // Example: 1234
        TestFloat64         float64              `json:"test_float64"`          // Example: 1234.000
        TestString          string               `json:"test_string"`           // Example: "test"
        TestArrayOfBool     []bool               `json:"test_array_of_bool"`    // Example: [true, false, true]
        TestArrayOfInt64    []int64              `json:"test_array_of_int64"`   // Example: [1, 2, 3, 4]
        TestArrayOfFloat64  []float64            `json:"test_array_of_float64"` // Example: [1.000, 2.000, 3.000, 4.000]
        TestArrayOfString   []string             `json:"test_array_of_string"`  // Example: ["test1", "test2", "test3"]
        TestStruct          *TestStruct          `json:"test_struct"`
        TestArrayOfStruct   []*TestArrayOfStruct `json:"test_array_of_struct"`
        TestGarbageArray    []*json.RawMessage   `json:"test_garbage_array"`
        TerribleNameForAKey string               `json:"terrible-name.for_a.key"` // Example: "test"
}

type TestStruct struct {
        TestString        string   `json:"test_string"`          // Example: "test"
        TestArrayOfString []string `json:"test_array_of_string"` // Example: ["test1", "test2", "test3"]
}

type TestArrayOfStruct struct {
        TestString         string `json:"test_string"`                    // Example: "test1"
        TestOptionalString string `json:"test_optional_string,omitempty"` // Example: "test1"
}

Inline struct definitions (-i)

Input:

{
  "test_struct": {
    "test_string": "test",
    "test_array_of_string": ["test1", "test2", "test3"]
  },
  "test_array_of_struct": [
    {
      "test_string": "test1",
      "test_optional_string": "test1"
    },
    {
      "test_string": "test2",
      "test_optional_string": "test2"
    },
    {
      "test_string": "test3"
    },
    {
      "test_string": "test4"
    }
  ]
}

Output:

type Stdin1 struct {
        TestStruct struct {
                TestString        string   `json:"test_string"`
                TestArrayOfString []string `json:"test_array_of_string"`
        } `json:"test_struct"`
        TestArrayOfStruct []struct {
                TestString         string `json:"test_string"`
                TestOptionalString string `json:"test_optional_string,omitempty"`
        } `json:"test_array_of_struct"`
}

Notes

• When an array of JSON objects is detected, any keys that are provided in some objects but not others will get the ,omitempty flag
• When the same field is detected in multiple objects in a JSON array with different value types, the Go type will be *json.RawMessage, which will contain the raw bytes of the field to allow for different types
• Defaults to a *json.RawMessage type when:
  • JSON null is provided
  • There are multiple types in e.g. an array
  • There is an empty array
• Can take input from either files passed in as CLI args or STDIN. Can take a stream of objects / arrays of objects.

TODO

• De-duplicate structs that are created more than once by multiple instances in the example JSON file
• Handle plural names for slice types