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Overview

The PHP to JSON converter deserializes PHP data formats into JSON. Supports both PHP serialize format and PHP array syntax, with proper handling of nested structures, objects, and type preservation.

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Use Cases

  • Data Migration: Convert PHP session data to JSON
  • API Integration: Transform PHP responses for modern APIs
  • Database Export: Convert serialized PHP columns to JSON
  • Legacy Systems: Extract data from PHP serialize format
  • Configuration Files: Convert PHP config arrays to JSON
  • Debugging: Inspect PHP serialized data in readable format

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Input Formats

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PHP Serialized Format (default)

a:3:{i:0;s:5:"apple";i:1;s:6:"banana";i:2;s:6:"cherry";}

a:2:{s:4:"name";s:4:"John";s:3:"age";i:30;}

O:4:"User":2:{s:4:"name";s:5:"Alice";s:5:"email";s:15:"[email protected]";}

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PHP Array Syntax

['apple', 'banana', 'cherry']

[
  'name' => 'John',
  'age' => 30,
  'active' => true
]

array(
  'users' => array(
    array('id' => 1, 'name' => 'Alice'),
    array('id' => 2, 'name' => 'Bob')
  )
)

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Actions

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Default (PHP Serialize)

Deserialize PHP serialize format to JSON: 
[
  "apple",
  "banana",
  "cherry"
]

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From Array

Parse PHP array syntax to JSON: 
{
  "name": "John",
  "age": 30,
  "active": true
}

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Output Format

Formatted JSON with proper indentation: 
{
  "name": "John",
  "age": 30,
  "email": "[email protected]",
  "active": true,
  "roles": [
    "admin",
    "user"
  ]
}

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Examples

a:3:{i:0;s:5:"apple";i:1;s:6:"banana";i:2;s:6:"cherry";}

a:3:{s:4:"name";s:4:"John";s:3:"age";i:30;s:5:"email";s:16:"[email protected]";}

[
  'name' => 'Alice',
  'age' => 28,
  'active' => true,
  'roles' => ['admin', 'editor']
]

a:2:{s:4:"user";a:2:{s:2:"id";i:1;s:4:"name";s:5:"Alice";}s:8:"settings";a:2:{s:5:"theme";s:4:"dark";s:6:"locale";s:5:"en_US";}}

O:4:"User":3:{s:2:"id";i:123;s:4:"name";s:5:"Alice";s:5:"email";s:15:"[email protected]";}

a:5:{s:6:"string";s:5:"hello";s:7:"integer";i:42;s:5:"float";d:3.14;s:4:"bool";b:1;s:4:"null";N;}

array(
  'product_id' => 101,
  'name' => 'Laptop',
  'specs' => array(
    'ram' => '16GB',
    'storage' => '512GB SSD'
  )
)

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PHP Serialize Format Reference

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Type Markers

  • N; - NULL
  • b:0; or b:1; - Boolean
  • i:123; - Integer
  • d:3.14; - Float (double)
  • s:5:"hello"; - String (length:value)
  • a:2:{...} - Array (count:elements)
  • O:4:"User":2:{...} - Object (class length:class name:count:properties)

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Array Format

a:2:{i:0;s:3:"foo";i:1;s:3:"bar";}
Breakdown:
  • a:2 - Array with 2 elements
  • { - Start array
  • i:0; - Key (integer 0)
  • s:3:"foo"; - Value (string “foo”)
  • i:1; - Key (integer 1)
  • s:3:"bar"; - Value (string “bar”)
  • } - End array

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Implementation Details

From lib/tools/engine.ts:754-761: 
case 'php-to-json': {
  if (action === 'from-array') {
    const parsed = parsePhpArraySyntax(input);
    return { output: stringify(parsed, true) };
  }
  const parsed = phpUnserialize(input);
  return { output: stringify(parsed, true) };
}
PHP Unserialize (lib/tools/php-tools.ts:7-95): 
export function phpUnserialize(input: string): PhpValue {
  const text = input.trim();
  let pos = 0;

  function parse(): PhpValue {
    const type = text[pos++];
    if (pos < text.length && text[pos] === ':') pos++;

    switch (type) {
      case 'N': return null;
      case 'b': return readUntil(';') === '1';
      case 'i': return parseInt(readUntil(';'), 10);
      case 'd': return parseFloat(readUntil(';'));
      case 's': return readString();
      case 'a': return readArray();
      case 'O': return readObject();
      default: throw new Error(`Unknown type '${type}'`);
    }
  }

  return parse();
}
PHP Array Syntax Parser (lib/tools/php-tools.ts:163-237): 
export function parsePhpArraySyntax(input: string): PhpValue {
  const text = input.trim();
  let pos = 0;

  function parseVal(): PhpValue {
    skip();
    const ch = text[pos];

    // Keywords
    if (text.startsWith('null', pos)) { pos += 4; return null; }
    if (text.startsWith('true', pos)) { pos += 4; return true; }
    if (text.startsWith('false', pos)) { pos += 5; return false; }

    // Numbers
    if (ch === '-' || (ch >= '0' && ch <= '9')) return parseNumber();

    // Strings
    if (ch === "'" || ch === '"') return parseString();

    // Arrays
    if (ch === '[' || text.startsWith('array(', pos)) return parseArray();

    throw new Error(`Unexpected token at position ${pos}`);
  }

  return parseVal();
}
The PHP to JSON converter handles both modern short array syntax ([]) and legacy array() function syntax. Objects are converted to JSON objects with a special __class property preserving the class name.
For PHP session data, use the default (serialize) mode. For config files and code snippets with array syntax, use the “From Array” action.
  • The unserializer does not execute PHP code or instantiate classes
  • Private/protected properties in serialized objects are converted to regular properties
  • Custom serialization handlers (like __sleep, __wakeup) are not invoked
  • Very deeply nested structures may cause stack overflow

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