Configuration conversion
Choose string preservation or explicit type inference before reshaping environment settings.
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Strict dotenv 17.4.2 subset. Quoted values stay strings; inference applies only to unquoted JSON numbers, true, false and null. Comments and original quoting are discarded.
500,000 characters / 2 MB UTF-8 input; 10,000 assignments, 50,000 nodes, depth 100, 1,000 characters per numeric token; 2 million output characters.
Enter content or run a conversion.
ENV to JSON helps move application settings between flat assignment files and structured configuration. A port that looks numeric may still need to stay text; a quoted false should not unexpectedly become a Boolean.
Use dotenv to JSON for settings exported by a supported loader, or JSON to ENV when a deployment needs assignments. Converting environment variables to JSON does not execute them, expand references or decide which names your application understands.
Make type and structure changes intentional
ENV to JSON preserves every accepted value as text by default, including 001, false and an empty assignment. Turn inference on only when the receiving JSON configuration expects typed primitives; quotes still protect text.
A double underscore can mark an object boundary when you opt in: DATABASE__HOST becomes a HOST field inside DATABASE. Ambiguous names and parent/leaf collisions stop conversion instead of silently moving a value to another path.
Three settings with consequences beyond formatting
Preserve strings is the default. Inference recognizes only unquoted JSON number syntax and lowercase true, false or null. Values such as 001, NaN and [] remain strings; quoted primitives also remain strings. JSON → ENV requires strings unless inference is selected.
Flat mode treats DATABASE__HOST as one name. Nested mode splits __ into object paths and rejects empty segments or collisions. JSON key segments containing __ or ambiguous underscore boundaries cannot be flattened reversibly; arrays and nested empty objects are rejected.
Use result and reverse previews both the replacement text and new direction. Apply keeps one Undo for input, options and output. Automatic conversion waits 350 ms; turn it off to use Convert or Ctrl/Cmd+Enter. Any edit immediately disables stale exports.
Inspect the data contract at each boundary
In inferred mode, accepted JSON numbers keep their original digits and exponent spelling without passing through binary64. A consuming application may still round, overflow or underflow them. Both directions limit each numeric token to 1,000 characters.
Single quotes, double quotes and backticks delimit values, including multiline values. Only double-quoted backslash-n and backslash-r decode to LF and CR. Other backslashes remain literal. The writer chooses a delimiter that does not appear in the string.
ENV names follow [A-Za-z_][A-Za-z0-9_]*. Case is preserved. Duplicate assignments, invalid names and parent/leaf conflicts stop the whole conversion. Reserved __proto__ names are rejected to match the tested dotenv consumer.
The result editor, clipboard and downloaded UTF-8 file contain the same generated text. Uploading a local file first opens a replacement preview. A failure keeps previous output stale and disables exports instead of emitting a partial configuration.
A converter for a declared subset, not an application runtime
Common questions about values and structure
The outer supported delimiter is removed and its content stays text, even with inference enabled. Double quotes interpret backslash-n and backslash-r; single quotes and backticks keep those sequences literal. ENV to JSON rejects embedded matching delimiters and ambiguous closing backslashes rather than inventing escape rules.
They do not appear in the JSON result. An unquoted # starts a comment, while # inside a supported quoted value is data. The optional export prefix is syntax only and is never executed. Reversing the result generates fresh assignments without restoring presentation.
Preserve strings matches the fact that environment variables are strings. Select inference to promote unquoted valid JSON numeric tokens, true, false and null. A leading-zero value such as 001 and a quoted value such as "42" remain text; large numeric tokens retain their digits within the documented limit.
The writer normally quotes string values to preserve whitespace, # and primitive-looking text. It chooses a compatible delimiter rather than adding JSON-style escapes. A safe bare form is a fallback for some quote combinations or trailing backslashes; unsupported combinations produce a path error.
Choose nested objects with __ for nonempty object paths ending in supported primitives. DATABASE.HOST becomes DATABASE__HOST without renaming case. Arrays, empty nested objects, invalid names and ambiguous underscore boundaries are rejected; flat mode deliberately keeps keys unstructured.
Have a different ENV quoting case?
Use ENV to JSON to make the string policy and object mapping explicit before moving settings between configuration files.
Check the receiving loader’s value and quoting contract.