@cameronhunter/json-async-stringify

@cameronhunter/json-async-stringify

JSON stringify with support for an async replacer function.

Why?

The standard JSON.stringify() accepts a replacer function to transform values before serialization, but it doesn't support async operations. This package provides an asyncStringify function that allows you to use an async replacer function, enabling you to perform asynchronous operations like fetching data from APIs, databases, or other async sources during the stringification process.

Installation

npm install @cameronhunter/json-async-stringify

Usage

Async Data Fetching

import { asyncStringify } from '@cameronhunter/json-async-stringify';

const userIds = [{ id: 1 }, { id: 2 }, { id: 3 }];

// Fetch full user details for each ID
const json = await asyncStringify(userIds, async (_key, value) => {
    if (typeof value === 'object' && value !== null && 'id' in value && !('name' in value)) {
        // Fetch user details from an API
        const response = await fetch(`https://api.example.com/users/${value.id}`);
        return response.json();
    }
    return value;
});

console.log(json);
// [{"id":1,"name":"Alice","email":"[e-mail]"},{"id":2,"name":"Bob","email":"[e-mail]"},...]

Converting Image URLs to Base64

import { asyncStringify } from '@cameronhunter/json-async-stringify';

const product = {
    name: 'Coffee Mug',
    price: 12.99,
    image: 'https://example.com/images/mug.jpg',
    thumbnail: 'https://example.com/images/mug-thumb.jpg',
};

// Convert image URLs to inline base64 data URLs
const json = await asyncStringify(product, async (key, value) => {
    // Check if this looks like an image URL
    if (typeof value === 'string' && /^https?:\/\/.+\.(jpg|jpeg|png|gif|webp)$/i.test(value)) {
        // Fetch the image
        const response = await fetch(value);
        const arrayBuffer = await response.arrayBuffer();
        const buffer = Buffer.from(arrayBuffer);

        // Convert to base64
        const base64 = buffer.toString('base64');
        const contentType = response.headers.get('content-type') || 'image/jpeg';

        // Return as data URL
        return `data:${contentType};base64,${base64}`;
    }
    return value;
});

console.log(json);
// {"name":"Coffee Mug","price":12.99,"image":"data:image/jpeg;base64,/9j/4AAQ...","thumbnail":"data:image/jpeg;base64,/9j/4AAQ..."}

API

asyncStringify(value, replacer, space?)

Converts a JavaScript value to a JSON string with support for async replacer functions.

Parameters

• value (any): A JavaScript value, usually an object or array, to be converted.

• replacer ((this: any, key: string, value: any) => Promise<any>): An async function that transforms values before serialization. The function receives:

  • key: The property key (empty string for the root value)
  • value: The property value
  • this: The parent object containing the value

  The function should return a Promise that resolves to the transformed value.

• space (number | string, optional): Adds indentation, white space, and line break characters to make the output more readable:

  • If a number, indicates the number of space characters to use (max 10)
  • If a string, uses that string (or first 10 characters) for indentation

Returns

Promise<string>: A Promise that resolves to the JSON string representation of the value.

Throws

• TypeError: If a circular reference is detected in the object structure
• TypeError: If a BigInt value is encountered (BigInt values cannot be serialized to JSON)