PHP JSON Parser - Read large JSON from any source in a memory-efficient way

Published on by

PHP JSON Parser - Read large JSON from any source in a memory-efficient way image

JSON Parser is a zero-dependencies pull parser to read large JSON from any source in a memory-efficient way. You can read JSON from any source, such as a string, URL, etc., and iterate through it like so:

// a source is anything that can provide a JSON, in this case an endpoint
$source = 'https://randomuser.me/api/1.4?seed=json-parser&results=5';
 
foreach (new JsonParser($source) as $key => $value) {
// instead of loading the whole JSON, we keep in memory only one key and value at a time
}

If you don't want to use foreach this parser also comes with a traverse method that looks like the following:

JsonParser::parse($source)->traverse(function (mixed $value, string|int $key, JsonParser $parser) {
// lazily load one key and value at a time; we can also access the parser if needed
});

The above examples demonstrate using a URL to process JSON, but the package supports several data sources. At the time of writing, the readme lists the following sources:

  • strings, e.g. {"foo":"bar"}
  • iterables, i.e. arrays or instances of Traversable
  • file paths, e.g. /path/to/large.json
  • resources, e.g. streams
  • API endpoint URLs, e.g. https://endpoint.json or any instance of Psr\Http\Message\UriInterface
  • PSR-7 requests, i.e. any instance of Psr\Http\Message\RequestInterface
  • PSR-7 messages, i.e. any instance of Psr\Http\Message\MessageInterface
  • PSR-7 streams, i.e. any instance of Psr\Http\Message\StreamInterface
  • Laravel HTTP client requests, i.e. any instance of Illuminate\Http\Client\Request
  • Laravel HTTP client responses, i.e. any instance of Illuminate\Http\Client\Response
  • user-defined sources, i.e. any instance of Cerbero\JsonParser\Sources\Source

Another amazing feature of this library that I want to point out is pointers which are useful to extract only specific subtrees from a large JSON dataset:

// Select the first gender result
$json = JsonParser::parse($source)->pointer('/results/0/gender');
 
foreach ($json as $key => $value) {
// 1st and only iteration: $key === 'gender', $value === 'female'
}
 
// Get all gender results
$json = JsonParser::parse($source)->pointer('/results/-/gender');
// ...

This package has many other features I still need to mention that you should check out! For example, it has a progress API to track the parsing progress (i.e., completion percentage, bytes processed, etc). Check out this package, get full installation instructions, and view the source code on GitHub!

Paul Redmond photo

Staff writer at Laravel News. Full stack web developer and author.

Cube

Laravel Newsletter

Join 40k+ other developers and never miss out on new tips, tutorials, and more.

image
Acquaint Softtech

Hire Laravel developers with AI expertise at $20/hr. Get started in 48 hours.

Visit Acquaint Softtech
PhpStorm logo

PhpStorm

The go-to PHP IDE with extensive out-of-the-box support for Laravel and its ecosystem.

PhpStorm
Acquaint Softtech logo

Acquaint Softtech

Acquaint Softtech offers AI-ready Laravel developers who onboard in 48 hours at $3000/Month with no lengthy sales process and a 100 percent money-back guarantee.

Acquaint Softtech
No Compromises logo

No Compromises

Joel and Aaron, the two seasoned devs from the No Compromises podcast, are now available to hire for your Laravel project. ⬧ Flat rate of $9500/mo. ⬧ No lengthy sales process. ⬧ No contracts. ⬧ 100% money back guarantee.

No Compromises
Kirschbaum logo

Kirschbaum

Providing innovation and stability to ensure your web application succeeds.

Kirschbaum
Laravel Cloud logo

Laravel Cloud

Easily create and manage your servers and deploy your Laravel applications in seconds.

Laravel Cloud
Lucky Media logo

Lucky Media

Get Lucky Now - the ideal choice for Laravel Development, with over a decade of experience!

Lucky Media
SaaSykit: Laravel SaaS Starter Kit logo

SaaSykit: Laravel SaaS Starter Kit

SaaSykit is a Multi-tenant Laravel SaaS Starter Kit that comes with all features required to run a modern SaaS. Payments, Beautiful Checkout, Admin Panel, User dashboard, Auth, Ready Components, Stats, Blog, Docs and more.

SaaSykit: Laravel SaaS Starter Kit
Harpoon: Next generation time tracking and invoicing logo

Harpoon: Next generation time tracking and invoicing

The next generation time-tracking and billing software that helps your agency plan and forecast a profitable future.

Harpoon: Next generation time tracking and invoicing
Shift logo

Shift

Running an old Laravel version? Instant, automated Laravel upgrades and code modernization to keep your applications fresh.

Shift

The latest

View all →
Inertia DevTools Is Now on the Chrome Web Store image

Inertia DevTools Is Now on the Chrome Web Store

Read article
Laravel LSP: A First-Party Language Server Announced at Laracon US 2026 image

Laravel LSP: A First-Party Language Server Announced at Laracon US 2026

Read article
Watch Laracon US 2026 Live on YouTube image

Watch Laracon US 2026 Live on YouTube

Read article
Monthly Log Driver in Laravel 13.23 image

Monthly Log Driver in Laravel 13.23

Read article
Pinion UI: Restyle an Entire Laravel App by Changing Two HTML Attributes image

Pinion UI: Restyle an Entire Laravel App by Changing Two HTML Attributes

Read article
Building a Live Match Scoreboard With Laravel Reverb image

Building a Live Match Scoreboard With Laravel Reverb

Read article