.jsonl files
.jsonl file
JSON Lines
One complete JSON object per line — a format built for streaming large data sets.
What opens a .jsonl file
- Windows
- Visual Studio Code, Notepad++, jq (command line)
- macOS
- Visual Studio Code, jq (command line), BBEdit
- Linux
- Visual Studio Code, jq, Text Editor (built in)
What a .jsonl file is
JSON Lines stores a sequence of records as independent JSON objects separated by newlines, so a program can process a huge file one line at a time instead of loading it whole. Machine learning data sets, log pipelines and LLM training corpora use it heavily. It is plain text: any editor opens it, though a multi-gigabyte file wants a streaming tool such as jq rather than a GUI.
Converting it
A .jsonl file is commonly converted to .json, .csv, .parquet or .ndjson. It is a plain text format, so any text editor can open and edit it directly.
Details
- Extension
- .jsonl
- Full name
- JSON Lines
- Category
- Data
- MIME type
- application/jsonl
- Created by
- Community convention
- Format
- Plain text
Common questions
- How do I open a .jsonl file?
- On Windows use Visual Studio Code; on macOS use Visual Studio Code; on Linux use Visual Studio Code. One complete JSON object per line — a format built for streaming large data sets.
- What is a .jsonl file?
- JSON Lines. JSON Lines stores a sequence of records as independent JSON objects separated by newlines, so a program can process a huge file one line at a time instead of loading it whole. Machine learning data sets, log pipelines and LLM training corpora use it heavily.
- Can I convert a .jsonl file?
- Yes. It is usually converted to .json, .csv, .parquet or .ndjson, either by exporting from one of the programs listed above or with a format converter.
Related pages
- .csv — Comma-Separated Values A spreadsheet as plain text, one row per line — the universal data exchange form
- .json — JavaScript Object Notation The standard text format for structured data on the web and in config files.
- .xml — Extensible Markup Language A tag-based text format for structured data, still everywhere in enterprise syst
- .yaml — YAML Data File An indentation-based configuration format, readable but unforgiving about whites
- .log — Log File A plain-text record of what a program did, newest events usually at the bottom.
- .torrent — BitTorrent Metainfo File A few kilobytes of metadata describing what to download and from whom — not the
- .dat — Generic Data File A meaningless extension — .dat says only that some program stored data here.
- .vcf — vCard Contact File One or more contacts as plain text — the standard way to move an address book.
- .sql — SQL Script A text file of database commands — often a full database dump.
- .ics — iCalendar Event A calendar invitation or event feed in a plain-text standard format.
- .sqlite — SQLite Database A complete relational database in a single file — the most deployed database in
- .db — Generic Database File An extension many programs use for their data — it does not identify one format.
Sources
- Media Types Registry — IANA
- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place