Which INI flavor is supported?

The common subset: [section] headers, key=value pairs, # and ; comments. Windows-style and POSIX-style both work.

How are sections mapped?

Each [section] becomes a top-level JSON object. Keys within the section become its properties. `[section.subsection]` becomes nested objects with dot notation.

What about duplicate keys?

Last-wins (matches most INI parser defaults). Toggle 'collect duplicates as array' if you need to preserve multiple values per key.

Does it handle type inference?

Yes — booleans (true/false, yes/no, on/off), numbers, and null strings are converted. Quoted strings keep string type.

INI ↔ JSON | DevTools Surf

DevTools Surf

Example: INI ↔ JSON

A worked example, rendered from real sample data. Sign in to run the tool on your own input.

Input

[database]
host = localhost
port = 5432
name = mydb

[server]
host = 0.0.0.0
port = 3000

Output

{
  "database": {
    "host": "localhost",
    "port": 5432,
    "name": "mydb"
  },
  "server": {
    "host": "0.0.0.0",
    "port": 3000
  }
}

About INI ↔ JSON

Convert between INI config files and JSON. Part of the DevTools Surf developer suite. Browse more tools in the Converters collection.

Use Cases

DevOps engineers converting legacy Windows configs to JSON
Python developers bridging configparser and JSON-based systems
System administrators automating config format migrations
Developers parsing php.ini or my.cnf into structured data

Tips

Preserve section headers as nested JSON keys for structure
Watch for duplicate keys — INI allows them but JSON does not
Use this to migrate legacy app configs to modern JSON format

Fun Facts

The INI file format dates back to the early 1980s and was popularized by Microsoft Windows 1.0 in 1985, predating both XML and JSON by decades.
Python's configparser module, which parses INI files, was part of the Python standard library since Python 1.5 released in 1998.
Git's configuration system (.gitconfig) uses an INI-like format, meaning every developer with Git installed interacts with INI-style files daily.

FAQ

Which INI flavor is supported?: The common subset: [section] headers, key=value pairs, # and ; comments. Windows-style and POSIX-style both work.
How are sections mapped?: Each [section] becomes a top-level JSON object. Keys within the section become its properties. `[section.subsection]` becomes nested objects with dot notation.
What about duplicate keys?: Last-wins (matches most INI parser defaults). Toggle 'collect duplicates as array' if you need to preserve multiple values per key.
Does it handle type inference?: Yes — booleans (true/false, yes/no, on/off), numbers, and null strings are converted. Quoted strings keep string type.

Related Converters Tools

JSON to XML JSON to CSV JSON to YAML JSON to TSV JSON to String XML to JSON XML to CSV XML to String