JSON Parse error: Expected '}'
This message comes from JavaScriptCore JSON.parse on JavaScriptCore (Bun 1.4.1). In this registry it is produced by 8 distinct mistakes. Positions in the real message vary with your input; the causes do not.
Causes
What produces this message
Comma in an empty JSON object
Input
{,}Exact message: JSON Parse error: Expected '}'
Fix: Remove the comma. An empty object is `{}`.
Hexadecimal number in JSON
Input
{"a": 0x1F}Exact message: JSON Parse error: Expected '}'
Fix: Convert to decimal, or quote it as a string if the hex form is the meaningful representation.
JavaScript object literal passed off as JSON
Input
{a: 1, b: 'two', c: [3,],}Exact message: JSON Parse error: Expected '}'
Fix: Run it through `JSON.stringify()` from JavaScript, or convert by hand: quote the keys, switch to double quotes, drop the trailing commas.
Leading zero in a JSON number
Input
{"a": 013}Exact message: JSON Parse error: Expected '}'
Fix: Quote it. `"013"` is a string and keeps its padding; `13` is a number and does not.
Missing comma between object members
Input
{"a": 1 "b": 2}Exact message: JSON Parse error: Expected '}'
Fix: Add a comma between the two members.
Numeric object key in JSON
Input
{1: "a"}Exact message: JSON Parse error: Expected '}'
Fix: Quote the key: `{"1": "a"}`.
Unclosed object — unexpected end of JSON input
Input
{"a": 1Exact message: JSON Parse error: Expected '}'
Fix: Verify you received the whole payload. Compare the byte count against Content-Length, and check for proxy or log truncation.
Unquoted object key in JSON
Input
{a: 1}Exact message: JSON Parse error: Expected '}'
Fix: Wrap every key in double quotes.
Same bug, other languages
What other parsers say about the same input
If a colleague reports a different message for what looks like the same file, this is why.
| Parser | Message for the same inputs |
|---|---|
| CPython json.loads | Expecting ',' delimiter: line L column C (char N)Expecting property name enclosed in double quotes: line L column C (char N) |
| Gson | Expected name at line L column C path $…Unterminated object at line L column C path $…java.io.EOFException: End of input at line L column C path $… |
| Gson JsonParser (lenient off) | Expected name at line L column C path $…Unterminated object at line L column C path $…java.io.EOFException: End of input at line L column C path $… |
| JSON5 | JSON5: invalid character ',' at 1:2JSON5: invalid character '1' at 1:2JSON5: invalid character '1' at 1:8JSON5: invalid character '\"' at 1:9JSON5: invalid end of input at 1:8 |
| JSON::PP | , or } expected while parsing object/hash, at character offset N (before "…")malformed number (leading zero must not be followed by another digit), at character offset N (before "…")unexpected end of string while parsing JSON string, at character offset N (before "…") |
| Jackson ObjectMapper | Invalid numeric value: Leading zeroes not allowedUnexpected character ('"' (code 34)): was expecting comma to separate Object entriesUnexpected character (',' (code 44)): was expecting double-quote to start field nameUnexpected character ('1' (code 49)): was expecting double-quote to start field nameUnexpected character ('a' (code 97)): was expecting double-quote to start field nameUnexpected character ('x' (code 120)): was expecting comma to separate Object entriesUnexpected end-of-input: expected close marker for Object (start marker |
| Newtonsoft.Json JsonConvert | After parsing a value an unexpected character was encountered: ". Path 'a', line L, position N.Invalid property identifier character: ,. Path '', line L, position N.Unexpected end when deserializing object. Path 'a', line L, position N. |
| Newtonsoft.Json JsonTextReader | After parsing a value an unexpected character was encountered: ". Path 'a', line L, position N.Invalid property identifier character: ,. Path '', line L, position N. |
| Ruby JSON.parse | unexpected token at '…' |
| SpiderMonkey JSON.parse | JSON.parse: end of data after property value in object at line L column C of the JSON dataJSON.parse: expected ',' or '}' after property value in object at line L column C of the JSON dataJSON.parse: expected property name or '}' at line L column C of the JSON data |
| System.Text.Json Deserialize | '"' is invalid after a value. Expected either ',', '}', or ']'. Path: $ | LineNumber: L | BytePositionInLine: C.',' is an invalid start of a property name. Expected a '"'. Path: $ | LineNumber: L | BytePositionInLine: C.'1' is an invalid end of a number. Expected a delimiter. Path: $ | LineNumber: L | BytePositionInLine: C.'1' is an invalid start of a property name. Expected a '"'. Path: $ | LineNumber: L | BytePositionInLine: C.'a' is an invalid start of a property name. Expected a '"'. Path: $ | LineNumber: L | BytePositionInLine: C.'x' is an invalid end of a number. Expected a delimiter. Path: $ | LineNumber: L | BytePositionInLine: C.Invalid leading zero before '1'. Path: $ | LineNumber: L | BytePositionInLine: C. |
| System.Text.Json JsonDocument | '"' is invalid after a value. Expected either ',', '}', or ']'. LineNumber: L | BytePositionInLine: C.',' is an invalid start of a property name. Expected a '"'. LineNumber: L | BytePositionInLine: C.'1' is an invalid end of a number. Expected a delimiter. LineNumber: L | BytePositionInLine: C.'1' is an invalid start of a property name. Expected a '"'. LineNumber: L | BytePositionInLine: C.'a' is an invalid start of a property name. Expected a '"'. LineNumber: L | BytePositionInLine: C.'x' is an invalid end of a number. Expected a delimiter. LineNumber: L | BytePositionInLine: C.Invalid leading zero before '1'. LineNumber: L | BytePositionInLine: C. |
| V8 JSON.parse | Expected ',' or '}' after property value in JSON at position N (line L column C)Expected property name or '}' in JSON at position N (line L column C)Unexpected number in JSON at position N (line L column C) |
| encoding/json Unmarshal | invalid character '"' after object key:value pairinvalid character ',' looking for beginning of object key stringinvalid character '1' after object key:value pairinvalid character '1' looking for beginning of object key stringinvalid character 'a' looking for beginning of object key stringinvalid character 'x' after object key:value pairunexpected end of JSON input |
| hjson | End of input while parsing an object (missing '}') at line L,10End of input while parsing an object (missing '}') at line L,11End of input while parsing an object (missing '}') at line L,15End of input while parsing an object (missing '}') at line L,7Found ',' where a key name was expected (check your syntax or use quotes if the key name includes {}[],: or whitespace) at line L,1 |
| json-bigint | Bad stringExpected ',' instead of '"'Expected ',' instead of ''Expected ',' instead of 'x' |
| json_decode | Syntax error |
| orjson | number with leading zero is not allowed: line L column C (char N)unexpected character, expected ',' or '}': line L column C (char N)unexpected character, expected a string key: line L column C (char N)unexpected end of data: line L column C (char N) |
| serde_json::from_str | EOF while parsing an object at line L column Cexpected `,` or `}` at line L column Cinvalid number at line L column Ckey must be a string at line L column C |
| ujson | Expected object or valueKey name of object must be 'string' when decoding 'object'Unexpected character in found when decoding object value |
Sources
Standards this registry is checked against
- RFC 8259 (STD 90) — The JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) Data Interchange Format, T. Bray, Ed., 2017. The IETF Internet Standard for JSON. Obsoletes RFC 7159 and RFC 4627.
- ECMA-404, 2nd edition — The JSON Data Interchange Syntax, Ecma International, 2017. Ecma’s grammar for JSON. A normative reference of RFC 8259; the two define the same syntax.
- The Unicode Standard — The Unicode Standard, Core Specification, The Unicode Consortium, current. Normatively referenced by RFC 8259 for the definition of a character.
- IEEE 754-2019 — IEEE Standard for Floating-Point Arithmetic, IEEE, 2019. Referenced by RFC 8259 §6 as the basis for its interoperability guidance on numbers.
Only standards bodies and peer-reviewed venues are cited. Error strings on this site are observed by executing each parser; the standards above define what the parser is reacting to.