JSON-LD
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JSON-LD (JSON for Linked Data) is a JSON-based syntax for serializing Linked Data, standardized by the W3C. It grew out of the JSON for Linking Data Community Group starting around 2010, was developed principally by Manu Sporny, Dave Longley, Gregg Kellogg, Markus Lanthaler, and Niklas Lindström, and reached Recommendation status as version 1.0 in January 2014, with the substantially expanded version 1.1 published in July 2020. Its explicit goal is to let ordinary JSON documents carry unambiguous, machine-readable semantics with minimal disruption to existing developer workflows.
Structurally, JSON-LD is a concrete serialization of the RDF data model: a labeled directed graph of nodes joined by directed arcs, where resources are named by IRIs or blank-node identifiers and terminal values are literals with optional datatypes, language tags, and text direction. The distinguishing device is the "@context", a mapping that binds short JSON keys to full IRIs and declares value types, so that a familiar-looking JSON object also denotes precise vocabulary terms. Reserved keywords such as "@id", "@type", "@graph", "@value", "@language", "@list", "@set", "@reverse", "@nest", and "@index" express node identity, typing, named graphs, ordered versus unordered collections, and inverse relations. The specification defines algorithmic expansion, compaction, and flattening, plus framing, giving canonical document forms for processing and interchange.
Because it maps cleanly to RDF, JSON-LD interoperates with the wider semantic-web stack and can be losslessly transformed to and from other RDF serializations like Turtle, RDF/XML, N-Triples, N-Quads, and TriG, and it overlaps in intent with the JSON-oriented RDF/JSON. It shares the embedded-in-HTML niche with RDFa and Microdata, and vocabularies such as OWL are commonly expressed through it. Tools including RDFLib (Python), Jena/RIOT, and dotNetRDF handle JSON-LD, and converters like rdf2rdf, EasyRdf Converter, and Zazuko RDF Conv. translate it to and from other serializations.
Its main strength is developer accessibility: valid JSON that existing parsers and NoSQL stores handle natively, yet fully addressable as graph data. This drives its dominant use in structured data for search (schema.org, Google Knowledge Graph) and in protocols like ActivityStreams and ActivityPub. Limitations follow from the same design: context processing, IRI resolution, and framing add nontrivial complexity, the multiple document forms can surprise naive consumers, and round-tripping arbitrary JSON into meaningful RDF still requires careful, hand-authored context modeling.
Alternative Names: JSON Linked Data
Specification| Feature | JSON-LD |
|---|---|
| Multiple Graphs per Document |  |
| Nodes | |
| Undirected Edges |  |
| Directed Edges | |
| Hyperedges | |
| Mixed-directionality Edges | |
| Parallel Edges | |
| Self-loops | |
| Edges on Edges |  |
| Nested Graphs in Nodes | |
| Nested Graphs in Edges | |
| Nested Graphs in Graphs | |
| Node Labels | |
| Edge Labels | |
| Attributes on Nodes | |
| Attributes on Edges | |
| Attributes on Graphs | |
| Typed Edges | |
Tools(Read & Write)
Read-only Tools
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a JSON-LD file?
A JSON-LD file stores a graph — its nodes, edges and attributes — in the JSON-LD format (also: JSON Linked Data). See the feature table above for what it supports.
How do I open a JSON-LD file?
Open it in a graph tool that supports JSON-LD, or convert it to a format your tool reads. With GraphInOut you can convert JSON-LD to GraphML, DOT, Connected JSON and more, right in your browser.
How do I convert a JSON-LD file to another format?
Use the Convert from JSON-LD link above: upload or paste your JSON-LD file (input preset to JSON-LD), choose a target format and download the result — free, no install.