JSON to PHP Array Converter

How to use

1. 1Paste a JSON value into the input on the left, or click Load sample JSON to see a worked example.
2. 2Read the generated PHP on the right. Objects become associative arrays and arrays become numeric lists, exactly matching what json_decode($x, true) would produce.
3. 3Pick the array syntax (short [...] for modern PHP, or array(...) for legacy projects) and the string quote style (single quotes are idiomatic when no interpolation is needed).
4. 4Toggle Prepend <?php to start a fresh .php file, or Wrap in return statement to make the file a drop-in config for require, or Assign to variable for inline use.
5. 5Choose PSR-12 four-space indent or two-space house style, and keep Trailing comma on for cleaner diffs in version control.
6. 6Click Copy PHP to put the full output on your clipboard, ready to paste into a .php file.

About this tool

JSON to PHP Array Converter turns any JSON value into an idiomatic PHP array literal entirely in your browser. Paste an API response, a config file, a fixture, or a copied object literal, and the tool parses it with the browser's native JSON parser, walks the resulting tree, and emits PHP code that matches what json_decode($x, true) would produce on the same input. JSON objects become PHP associative arrays with the original keys preserved as strings, in the original order (PHP arrays preserve insertion order, so the round-trip is exact). JSON arrays become PHP numeric arrays with keys 0..N-1 emitted as a clean list. Booleans, null, and numbers map directly to their PHP equivalents. Strings are escaped with the correct rules for the quote style you pick: single quotes only need to escape backslashes and the quote itself, while double quotes also escape $ (so the literal cannot be interpolated by accident), plus \n, \r, \t, \v, \f, \e, and any other control characters so the literal is byte-for-byte identical to the original. Output options give full control over the resulting code: short [...] syntax (the modern PHP 5.4+ default) or legacy array(...) syntax for older codebases, four-space PSR-12 indentation or two-space house style, single or double string quotes, an optional <?php tag for files that will be saved fresh, an optional $variable = ... assignment with a sanitized identifier, an optional return statement so the file becomes a drop-in config for require_once or service container loaders, and an optional trailing comma after the last element of multi-line arrays for cleaner diffs (a PHP best practice). Object keys that look like canonical PHP integers are emitted as integer keys instead of strings, so json_decode($x, true) round-trips perfectly. Useful for porting JSON fixtures into PHPUnit data providers, dropping API examples into Laravel or Symfony config files, building seed data for Eloquent or Doctrine, scaffolding language and localization files, generating cached PHP arrays from JSON snapshots, and turning third-party schema dumps into editable PHP code. Parsing and emission run locally on your device, so the JSON you paste here never leaves your browser.

Free to use. Works in your browser. No signup, no login.