minify()

Parse JSON and return a compact representation or PHP value.

Signature

JsonFast::minify(string $json, ?int $output = OUTPUT_ARRAY): mixed

Parameters

Name	Type	Default	Description
$json	string	—	Valid JSON text
$output	?int	OUTPUT_ARRAY	Output mode

Returns

Mode	Result
OUTPUT_ARRAY	Native PHP array (default) — fastest path to working with data
OUTPUT_STRING	Minified JSON string (no extra whitespace)
OUTPUT_OBJECT	stdClass for objects; arrays stay as PHP arrays

Examples

Default — decode to array:

$json = '{"name":"Allan","active":true,"roles":["admin","user"]}';
$data = JsonFast::minify($json);
// ['name' => 'Allan', 'active' => true, 'roles' => [...]]

Compact string for storage or wire:

$compact = JsonFast::minify($json, JsonFast::OUTPUT_STRING);

Object access:

$object = JsonFast::minify($json, JsonFast::OUTPUT_OBJECT);
echo $object->name;

vs json_decode()

minify() requires valid JSON. For invalid input use repair() first. Benefits over json_decode() alone:

• Consistent $output across all JsonFast methods
• Same Rust parser used for path, schema, and diff operations
• Order-preserving object keys (serde_json)

Related

• beautify() — pretty-print
• validate() — check before parsing