Read raw JSON like it belongs in an IDE

1. Open the response in Prettified view

   Visit the raw API URL, drag the saved response onto the extension launcher, or open it in the Windows app. Confirm that the top-right view toggle says Prettified. If you opened a local file:// URL directly and nothing happens, use the launcher or enable file URL access for the extension.

2. Learn the shape before searching values

   Collapse the document, then expand only the root and services array. This tells you whether the response is an object, which top-level sections exist, and where repeated service records begin. For a large document, open Document Navigator and filter its paths instead of scrolling.

3. Find the symptom in context

   Press Ctrl+F and search for degraded. Move through the result count and inspect the surrounding service name, metrics, and release data. Ordinary search is the fastest choice when you know a value but not its exact JSON path.

4. Ask a repeatable structural question

   Open More Actions → JSON Path Inspector, enter $.services[*].name, and run the query. The result list should contain one value for every service name. Select a result to connect the extracted value to its source line, then copy either an individual value or the complete result.

5. Check the response against a small contract

   Open Schema Validator and paste a schema that requires every service to have an owner and a healthy status. Run validation and read each result as path → rule → source line. A useful validator result tells you both what rule failed and where the offending value lives.

   {
     "type": "object",
     "required": ["services"],
     "properties": {
       "services": {
         "type": "array",
         "items": {
           "type": "object",
           "required": ["id", "owner"],
           "properties": {
             "status": { "enum": ["healthy"] }
           }
         }
       }
     }
   }

6. Switch perspective when the array behaves like a table

   Open Table View for the service array. Search a region or owner, sort the latency column descending, and compare records without repeatedly expanding objects. Return to the structured viewer when you need nested values that do not fit naturally into columns.

7. Separate real changes from formatting noise

   Copy a second response, open Compare, and choose semantic JSON comparison when key order or whitespace changed. Review additions, removals, and changed values, then copy or export only after you understand which representation—original, formatted, or transformed—you need.

Learning outcome: you should be able to move from “this response is too large to read” to a specific path, source line, validation rule, or changed value—and explain how you found it.