OmniJSON / Guide
Fix OmniJSON when Open does not respond
Documentation checked against 0.1.14. Version notes and publisher support; check the store listing for availability.
Updated
If Open stops responding after an extension update, first refresh the original JSON tab and try again. If that fails, use the toolbar launcher to open the viewer. Work through the steps below before reinstalling; the problem may be an old tab connection, source permissions or parser startup.
1. Refresh the original JSON page
Keep the source address available, refresh the JSON tab, and click Open again. An already-open tab can retain a connection to the previous extension instance. Version 0.1.13 and later can replace an invalidated page action with a Refresh button; use it, then try Open on the refreshed page.
For a web source, check that refreshing still shows the expected raw JSON. An expired sign-in session, redirect or server error may show an HTML page instead. Refreshing is a recovery step, not proof that all update failures share one cause.
2. Open a fresh viewer from the toolbar
- Click OmniJSON in Chrome’s extensions menu or toolbar. In version 0.1.13 and later, choose Open viewer. Earlier versions open the viewer directly.
- If the launcher reports a connection problem, use Check again. The direct viewer link and parser connection are separate operations; opening a page alone does not establish that parsing is ready.
- If the viewer reports a startup failure, reload it once.
- If it still fails, open
chrome://extensions, turn OmniJSON off and on, then refresh the source tab and open a new viewer. This interrupts active OmniJSON sessions.
Check the installed version in Chrome’s extension details. Version 0.1.14 fixes the toolbar launcher’s width; that layout fix is distinct from the startup recovery introduced in 0.1.13. The store listing determines which version is currently available.
3. Separate source problems from startup problems
- A local file does not open
- Enable Allow access to file URLs in OmniJSON’s extension details. Use an absolute file path or
file:///URL. Relative paths and~/shortcuts are not supported. You can also open the file in Chrome and try its detected Open action. - A web URL does not open
- Check that the URL serves one raw JSON object or array in Chrome. If direct fetching fails, an already-open JSON tab can supply its visible content as a fallback. Authentication and server behavior can affect the result.
- The viewer shows a parse error
- Read its line, column and source preview. Malformed JSON, JSONL/NDJSON and multiple documents are different from a connection failure; repeatedly reloading will not make an unsupported input valid.
- A large file is still loading
- Browse available rows, use Search or Fields, and wait for parsing before JSONPath. If you need to stop, use Cancel. Read performance and practical limits to distinguish source delays from parsing work.
4. Collect a useful support report
In the launcher, use Copy diagnostics. If clipboard access fails, select and copy the displayed report. Startup diagnostics contain bounded local failure records with version, stage, error code and elapsed time; copied reports also include the browser version. They exclude JSON, source URLs, credentials and raw error messages and are not uploaded automatically.
Contact the publisher through the Chrome Web Store listing. Include the report, what happened when clicking Open, whether a fresh viewer opens, source type and the steps already tried. Review any extra screenshots or console text yourself before sharing; those can contain private data.
Reinstalling is not the first step: uninstalling clears OmniJSON’s local recent sources and diagnostics. See local storage and privacy before removing the extension.