Rust + PHP extension

php_jsonfast

Fast JSON parsing, path access, schema validation, merge/diff, and flexible output modes for PHP.

php_jsonfast is a PHP extension written in Rust. It returns native PHP arrays, compact JSON strings, or stdClass objects — with diagnostics, path access, and transforms beyond what json_decode() alone provides.

~3.3×faster diff vs native PHP

~9×faster schema vs Opis

~46 MB/smerge throughput (32 MB payload)

AnalyseGetting meaningful error messages from broken json strings

What can it do?

AnalyseSee exactly what is wrong and where — before you touch the payload.

UnwrapPeel double- (or triple-) encoded JSON strings APIs and databases often return.

Path accessRead dot paths and wildcards without full decode + manual walks.

SchemaInfer, validate, apply defaults — no extra Composer package.

TransformBeautify, minify, deep merge, and structural diff.

Tiny example

Diagnose first, then unwrap or parse:

php

$broken = <<<'JSON'
{
    // user profile
    "name": Allan,
    "active": true,
}
JSON;

$report = JsonFast::analyse($broken);
// valid: false, error at line 3, column 12

if (!$report['valid']) {
    throw new InvalidArgumentException(
        "JSON error at {$report['error']['line']}:{$report['error']['column']}"
    );
}

When json_decode() returns a string instead of an array, the document is often wrapped twice:

php

$payload = '"{\"user\":{\"id\":42}}\"'; // string containing JSON

$data = JsonFast::unwrap($payload);
// ['user' => ['id' => 42]]

The headline: stop guessing why JSON failed or how many times it was encoded. analyse() pinpoints parse errors; unwrap() drills through layered string encoding — then path, schema, merge, and diff live in the same API.

Start here

Repository: github.com/AllanGallop/libphp_jsonfast

php_jsonfast ​

What can it do? ​

Tiny example ​

Start here ​

php_jsonfast

What can it do?

Tiny example

Start here