Question 1

Why minify JSON?

Accepted Answer

Minifying JSON reduces file size by removing all unnecessary whitespace, indentation, and line breaks. This is important for production environments where smaller payloads mean faster network transfers, lower bandwidth costs, and quicker parsing. For example, a 10KB formatted JSON file might shrink to 6KB when minified, saving 40% in transfer size. This adds up significantly when serving millions of API requests.

Question 2

What is the difference between JSON minification and gzip compression?

Accepted Answer

JSON minification removes whitespace and formatting characters from the JSON text itself, reducing the raw file size. Gzip compression is a separate step that applies a compression algorithm to the data for transfer. Both can be used together for maximum savings: first minify to remove whitespace, then gzip to compress the result. Gzip typically achieves 60-80% compression on JSON data, and minifying first makes gzip even more effective.

Question 3

How small can JSON get?

Accepted Answer

The minimum JSON size depends on the data it represents. You cannot remove data values, but you can minimize overhead: use short key names, omit null values, prefer arrays over objects where possible, and remove unnecessary decimal precision. Combining minification with gzip compression, JSON payloads can typically be reduced to 20-30% of their original formatted size. For extreme optimization, consider binary formats like MessagePack or Protocol Buffers.

Tip	Description	Impact
Short key names	Use abbreviated keys like "n" instead of "name"	High
Remove null values	Omit keys with null values when not needed	Medium
Use arrays over objects	Arrays with positional values skip key names	High
Flat structure	Flatten deeply nested objects when possible	Medium
Number precision	Remove unnecessary decimal places (3.10 -> 3.1)	Low
Boolean as integers	Use 0/1 instead of false/true (saves 3-4 chars each)	Low

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