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- [Design goals](#design-goals)
- [Sponsors](#sponsors)
- [Support](#support) ([documentation](https://json.nlohmann.me), [FAQ](https://json.nlohmann.me/home/faq/), [discussions](https://github.com/nlohmann/json/discussions), [API](https://json.nlohmann.me/api/basic_json/), [bug issues](https://github.com/nlohmann/json/issues))
- [Examples](#examples)
- [Read JSON from a file](#read-json-from-a-file)
- [Creating `json` objects from JSON literals](#creating-json-objects-from-json-literals)
- [JSON as first-class data type](#json-as-first-class-data-type)
- [Serialization / Deserialization](#serialization--deserialization)
- [STL-like access](#stl-like-access)
- [Conversion from STL containers](#conversion-from-stl-containers)
- [JSON Pointer and JSON Patch](#json-pointer-and-json-patch)
- [JSON Merge Patch](#json-merge-patch)
- [Implicit conversions](#implicit-conversions)
- [Conversions to/from arbitrary types](#arbitrary-types-conversions)
- [Specializing enum conversion](#specializing-enum-conversion)
- [Binary formats (BSON, CBOR, MessagePack, UBJSON, and BJData)](#binary-formats-bson-cbor-messagepack-ubjson-and-bjdata)
- [Supported compilers](#supported-compilers)
- [Integration](#integration)
- [CMake](#cmake)
- [Package Managers](#package-managers)
- [Pkg-config](#pkg-config)
- [License](#license)
- [Contact](#contact)
- [Thanks](#thanks)
- [Used third-party tools](#used-third-party-tools)
- [Projects using JSON for Modern C++](#projects-using-json-for-modern-c)
- [Notes](#notes)
- [Execute unit tests](#execute-unit-tests)
## Design goals
There are myriads of [JSON](https://json.org) libraries out there, and each may even have its reason to exist. Our class had these design goals:
- **Intuitive syntax**. In languages such as Python, JSON feels like a first class data type. We used all the operator magic of modern C++ to achieve the same feeling in your code. Check out the [examples below](#examples) and you'll know what I mean.
- **Trivial integration**. Our whole code consists of a single header file [`json.hpp`](https://github.com/nlohmann/json/blob/develop/single_include/nlohmann/json.hpp). That's it. No library, no subproject, no dependencies, no complex build system. The class is written in vanilla C++11. All in all, everything should require no adjustment of your compiler flags or project settings.
- **Serious testing**. Our code is heavily [unit-tested](https://github.com/nlohmann/json/tree/develop/tests/src) and covers [100%](https://coveralls.io/r/nlohmann/json) of the code, including all exceptional behavior. Furthermore, we checked with [Valgrind](https://valgrind.org) and the [Clang Sanitizers](https://clang.llvm.org/docs/index.html) that there are no memory leaks. [Google OSS-Fuzz](https://github.com/google/oss-fuzz/tree/master/projects/json) additionally runs fuzz tests against all parsers 24/7, effectively executing billions of tests so far. To maintain high quality, the project is following the [Core Infrastructure Initiative (CII) best practices](https://bestpractices.coreinfrastructure.org/projects/289).
Other aspects were not so important to us:
- **Memory efficiency**. Each JSON object has an overhead of one pointer (the maximal size of a union) and one enumeration element (1 byte). The default generalization uses the following C++ data types: `std::string` for strings, `int64_t`, `uint64_t` or `double` for numbers, `std::map` for objects, `std::vector` for arrays, and `bool` for Booleans. However, you can template the generalized class `basic_json` to your needs.
- **Speed**. There are certainly [faster JSON libraries](https://github.com/miloyip/nativejson-benchmark#parsing-time) out there. However, if your goal is to speed up your development by adding JSON support with a single header, then this library is the way to go. If you know how to use a `std::vector` or `std::map`, you are already set.
See the [contribution guidelines](https://github.com/nlohmann/json/blob/master/.github/CONTRIBUTING.md#please-dont) for more information.
## Sponsors
You can sponsor this library at [GitHub Sponsors](https://github.com/sponsors/nlohmann).
### :office: Corporate Sponsor
[![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9e/Codacy-logo-black.svg/320px-Codacy-logo-black.svg.png)](https://github.com/codacy)
### :label: Named Sponsors
- [Michael Hartmann](https://github.com/reFX-Mike)
- [Stefan Hagen](https://github.com/sthagen)
- [Steve Sperandeo](https://github.com/homer6)
- [Robert Jefe Lindstädt](https://github.com/eljefedelrodeodeljefe)
- [Steve Wagner](https://github.com/ciroque)
Thanks everyone!
## Support
:question: If you have a **question**, please check if it is already answered in the [**FAQ**](https://json.nlohmann.me/home/faq/) or the [**Q&A**](https://github.com/nlohmann/json/discussions/categories/q-a) section. If not, please [**ask a new question**](https://github.com/nlohmann/