JSON Patch Generator

2 operation(s) turn the source into the target.

How it works

• Walked both values in parallel, matching object keys and array indices.
• Emitted `remove` for a key or element only in the source, `add` for one only in the target, and recursed otherwise.
• Emitted `replace` at a leaf whose value changed, using an RFC 6901 JSON Pointer path.

• Routes are pointer-escaped per RFC 6901: `~` becomes `~0` and `/` becomes `~1`.
• Arrays are diffed positionally (index by index); a reorder is therefore reported as a set of `replace` operations rather than a `move`.

Methodology

1. Parse both values.
2. Recurse over objects by key and arrays by index.
3. Emit add/remove at structural differences and replace at changed leaves.
4. Serialise the operations as an RFC 6902 patch array.

Usage

1. Paste the source JSON value.
2. Paste the target JSON value.
3. Copy the generated RFC 6902 patch array.

Examples

These are examples, not current values: they use fixed inputs, while the interactive tool computes live results in your browser.

Replace and add

{
  "source": "{\"a\":1}",
  "target": "{\"a\":2,\"b\":3}"
}

Remove a nested key

{
  "source": "{\"user\":{\"name\":\"Ada\",\"age\":36}}",
  "target": "{\"user\":{\"name\":\"Ada\"}}"
}

Array element added

{
  "source": "[1,2]",
  "target": "[1,2,3]"
}

Limitations

Patch versus compare

A JSON Patch is a list of operations that transforms one document into another. It is compact and replayable, which is why it is used for partial updates over HTTP (`application/json-patch+json`).

This generator emits the minimal positional patch. It is ideal for 'make this document look like that one'; for a human-readable side-by-side view, use the JSON Compare tool instead.