Graphical tools in MapForce make it easy to define data mapping and processing rules for converting JSON. With support for JSON as both an input and output format, MapForce can be applied in countless ways, including these common scenarios:
| JSON ↔ XML | Often needed when integrating modern web APIs (JSON) with legacy enterprise systems |
| JSON ↔ databases | Inserting JSON data into relational database tables or extracting relational data to generate JSON for APIs |
| JSON ↔ Excel or CSV | For integration with business tools and reporting systems, or preparing data for data warehouses and analytics platforms |
| GeoJSON ↔ KML or Excel | For converting geospatial data to and from other formats or plotting REST output to a map |
| JSON ↔ EDI | For integrating traditional B2B systems with modern applications |
| PDF ↔ JSON | Extract data from PDFs and convert to JSON for integration with APIs or other systems |
| Parsing API responses | Mapping JSON returned by REST APIs into usable internal formats (e.g., DB records or XML structures) |
When you need to map JSON data but don't have a schema corresponding to a JSON or JSON5 instance, MapForce will infer one for fast mapping according to the document structure.
Once your JSON mapping project is defined, you can click Output to transform the data instantly. (For mapping JSON to a database, the Output view shows the SQL statements that will be executed against the database once the mapping is initiated.)
For advanced troubleshooting, MapForce includes an interactive data mapping debugger for tracing how data flows through source and target nodes during mapping execution.
To automate recurrent JSON conversion projects, you can deploy your MapForce projects to MapForce Server. MapForce Server provides high-performance automation of any-to-any data mapping projects at a fraction of the cost of legacy and big-iron data management products.
| Name | Ext | Description | Vertical | Standards Body |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ArcGIS Pro Layer / Map File |
.lyrx .mapx | Esri's layer and map documents, storing symbology, labeling, layout, and data source configuration as Cartographic Information Model JSON. | Geospatial / GIS | |
| Asset Administration Shell (AAS) JSON |
.json | The JSON serialization of the Industry 4.0 digital twin standard describing an industrial asset's properties, documentation, and capabilities. | Industry 4.0, manufacturing | |
| AsyncAPI Description |
.json | The specification describing event-driven and message-based APIs — Kafka topics, MQTT channels, queues — analogous to OpenAPI for REST. | Event streaming, enterprise integration | |
| Avro Schema |
.avsc | The JSON schema language of Apache Avro that defines record structures for streaming and big-data serialization in Kafka, Confluent Schema Registry, and Hadoop. | Data engineering, event streaming | |
| COCO Annotations |
.json | The most widely used JSON annotation format for computer vision training data — bounding boxes, segmentation masks, keypoints — supported by virtually every object detection framework. | Machine learning, computer vision | |
| CZML |
.czml | The format describing time-dynamic 3D geospatial scenes — satellite tracks, flight paths, sensor coverage — in the CesiumJS virtual globe. | Aerospace, defense, geospatial visualization | |
| CityJSON |
.city.json .cityjson | A compact JSON encoding of the CityGML data model for 3D city models used in urban planning, digital twins, and municipal GIS. | Urban planning, digital twins, GIS | |
| CloudEvents |
.json | The CNCF standard envelope for describing event data across serverless platforms, message brokers, and event-driven integrations. | Event-driven architecture, cloud integration | |
| CycloneDX SBOM |
.cdx.json | The OWASP Software Bill of Materials standard now required by procurement and regulation (US EO 14028, EU Cyber Resilience Act) to inventory software components. | Software supply chain, compliance | |
| DICOM JSON Model |
.json | The JSON representation of DICOM medical imaging metadata defined in PS3.18, used by DICOMweb services in radiology and pathology systems. | Medical imaging, healthcare IT | |
| Design Tokens |
.tokens .tokens.json | The emerging W3C community format for exchanging design system values — color, typography, spacing — between Figma, code, and documentation pipelines. | Design systems, product design | |
| Dynamo Workspace |
.dyn .dyf | The visual programming graphs used to automate Revit and Civil 3D workflows; Dynamo 2.0 and later store workspaces and custom nodes as JSON. | AEC, computational design | |
| EnergyPlus JSON Input |
.epjson | The JSON input format of EnergyPlus, the US Department of Energy's reference building energy simulation engine. | Building energy modeling, sustainability | |
| Ethereum Contract ABI |
.abi | The Application Binary Interface describing a smart contract's callable functions and events — required by every wallet, block explorer, and dApp integration. | Blockchain, fintech | |
| Frictionless Data Package |
.json | The datapackage.json descriptor that bundles tabular data files with their schema, licensing, and provenance metadata for open data publishing. | Open data, research data management | |
| GBFS (General Bikeshare Feed Specification) |
.json | The open standard through which bikeshare, e-scooter, and shared mobility operators publish real-time vehicle and station availability to cities and trip planners. | Transportation, smart cities | |
| GeoJSON | The IETF standard for encoding geographic features — points, lines, polygons — in JSON; the lingua franca of web mapping and spatial APIs. | Geospatial / GIS, web mapping | ||
| Grafana Dashboard Model |
.json | The JSON model describing a Grafana dashboard's panels, queries, and variables; the standard unit of exchange for observability dashboards. | Observability, IT operations | |
| HAR (HTTP Archive) |
.har | The format in which browsers and diagnostic tools export recorded HTTP traffic; routinely requested by support teams to troubleshoot web application issues. | Web operations, IT support, performance testing | |
HL7 FHIR Resource / Bundle |
.json | The dominant modern standard for exchanging healthcare data — patients, observations, medications, claims — mandated by the US CMS Interoperability Rule and adopted by EHR vendors worldwide. JSON is the most widely used FHIR serialization. | Healthcare | |
| IIIF Presentation Manifest |
.json | The International Image Interoperability Framework manifest describing digitized objects, used by libraries, museums, and archives worldwide to publish collections. | Libraries, museums, digital humanities | |
| JSON Lines / NDJSON |
.jsonl .ndjson .ldjson | Newline-delimited JSON — one object per line — the default format for application logs, event streams, bulk API exports, data pipelines, and LLM fine-tuning datasets. | Data engineering, analytics, machine learning | |
| JSON-LD (JSON for Linking Data) |
.jsonld | The W3C standard for linked data in JSON — the format behind schema.org structured data that drives search engine rich results and AI answer engines. | SEO/AEO, knowledge graphs, linked data | |
| JSON-stat |
.json | The lightweight standard for disseminating official statistics datasets and multidimensional cubes, used by national statistical institutes across Europe. | Official statistics, government data | |
| Jupyter Notebook |
.ipynb | The notebook format combining code, results, and narrative in a single JSON document; the standard working file of data science and research computing. | Data science, research, education | |
| Lottie Animation |
.json | The JSON format for vector animations exported from After Effects and rendered natively in iOS, Android, and web apps — behind a large share of app micro-animations and loading indicators. | Motion design, mobile and web UI | |
| Mapbox / MapLibre Style Specification |
.json | The JSON document that defines how a vector web map is rendered — layers, colors, fonts, zoom rules — used by Mapbox GL, MapLibre, and most modern web cartography. | Web cartography, geospatial | |
| NIEM JSON-LD |
.json .jsonld | The JSON serialization of the National Information Exchange Model, used for information sharing across US justice, immigration, emergency management, and public health agencies. | Government information exchange | |
| OCDS (Open Contracting Data Standard) |
.json | The standard for publishing public procurement data — tenders, awards, contracts — used by governments and anti-corruption analysts worldwide. | Government, public procurement | |
| OCPP (Open Charge Point Protocol) Messages |
.json | The JSON message format connecting electric vehicle charging stations to network operators for authorization, metering, and smart charging. | EV charging, energy | |
| OPC UA JSON Encoding |
.json | The JSON encoding of OPC UA data defined in Part 6, used for industrial machine data over MQTT and cloud IIoT pipelines. | Industrial automation, IIoT | |
| OSCAL (Open Security Controls Assessment Language) |
.json | NIST's machine-readable format for security control catalogs, system security plans, and assessment results, used in FedRAMP and government compliance automation. | Security compliance, government | |
| OSV (Open Source Vulnerability) Record |
.json | The OpenSSF schema for describing vulnerabilities in open source packages, powering GitHub, Google, and distribution security advisory feeds. | Software security, vulnerability management | |
| OpenAPI / Swagger Description |
.json | The de facto standard contract describing REST APIs — endpoints, parameters, schemas, and authentication — consumed by API gateways, SDK generators, and developer portals. | API management, enterprise integration | |
| OpenRTB Bid Request / Response |
.json | The IAB standard message format behind programmatic digital advertising, exchanged billions of times per second between ad exchanges and bidders. | Digital advertising, adtech | |
| OpenTimelineIO |
.otio | The Academy Software Foundation's JSON interchange format for editorial timelines, moving cuts between Premiere, Resolve, Avid, and VFX pipelines. | Film and video post-production | |
| Postman Collection |
.json | The portable JSON definition of a set of API requests, environments, and tests — the most widely shared artifact in API development and QA. | API development, QA | |
| SARIF (Static Analysis Results Interchange Format) |
.sarif | The OASIS standard for reporting findings from static analysis and security scanning tools, natively ingested by GitHub Advanced Security and Azure DevOps. | Application security, DevSecOps | |
| SDMX-JSON |
.json | The JSON serialization of SDMX, the ISO standard for exchanging statistical data and metadata used by the ECB, Eurostat, IMF, OECD, and BIS. | Official statistics, central banking | |
| SPDX SBOM (JSON) |
.spdx.json | The ISO-standardized Software Package Data Exchange format for communicating software components, licenses, and provenance. | Software supply chain, license compliance | |
| STAC (SpatioTemporal Asset Catalog) |
.json | The standard for cataloging satellite imagery and earth-observation data, adopted by NASA, ESA, USGS, Microsoft Planetary Computer, and AWS Open Data. | Earth observation, remote sensing | |
| STIX 2.x (Structured Threat Information Expression) |
.json | The OASIS standard for exchanging cyber threat intelligence — indicators, threat actors, attack patterns — between security platforms and information sharing communities. | Cybersecurity, threat intelligence | |
| Source Map |
.map | The JSON files (.js.map, .css.map) that map minified production web assets back to their original sources; now standardized as ECMA-426. | Web development, application monitoring | |
| Terraform State |
.tfstate | The JSON file in which Terraform records every provisioned cloud resource and its attributes — the system of record for infrastructure-as-code estates. | Cloud infrastructure, IT operations | |
| TopoJSON |
.topojson | A GeoJSON extension that encodes shared topology, producing dramatically smaller files for choropleth maps and D3-based data visualization. | Geospatial / GIS, data visualization | |
| Web App Manifest |
.webmanifest | The W3C manifest that lets a Progressive Web App be installed like a native application, declaring name, icons, theme colors, and display mode. | Web and mobile applications | |
| Zarr Metadata |
.zarray .zattrs .zgroup | The JSON metadata files that describe chunked, compressed N-dimensional array datasets in cloud-native climate, satellite, and bioimaging archives. | Earth science, bioimaging, scientific computing | |
| glTF (GL Transmission Format) |
.gltf | The 'JPEG of 3D' — the Khronos runtime format for 3D scenes and models used in e-commerce product viewers, AR/VR, digital twins, and game engines. | 3D graphics, AR/VR, e-commerce | |
| ifcJSON |
.ifcjson | The JSON serialization of the buildingSMART IFC model, easing web and cloud consumption of Building Information Models. | AEC, BIM, construction | |
| xBRL-JSON |
.json | The JSON representation of XBRL financial report data, designed to make regulatory filing facts directly consumable by analytics tools and APIs. | Finance, regulatory reporting |
