Tiny util to stringify and parse circular references in objects.
npm install circular-referenceEnables JSON.stringify() and JSON.parse() for JavaScript objects with circular references.
This library provides two methods that handle circular references by injecting or resolving a special string representation (e.g.,
- stringifyCircularReferences(data:any, clone=false) replaces all circular references with a string representation of their paths within the structure. If clone is true, the function operates on a deep copy of data, leaving the original unchanged.
- parseCircularReferences(data:any, clone=false) restores circular references based on the encoded paths. If clone is true, it modifies a deep copy instead of data directly.
npm i circular-reference or use your preferred package manager.
``js
import { parseCircularReferences, stringifyCircularReferences } from "circular-reference";
// Object that references itself
const objectA = {};
objectA.ref = objectA;
// Convert the object to a JSON string
objectA = stringifyCircularReferences(objectA);
const objectAString = JSON.stringify(objectA);
console.log(objectAString);
/ Output: {"ref":"
// Restore the same structure from the json string
const objectB = JSON.parse(objectAString);
objectB = parseCircularReferences(objectB);
console.log(objectB.ref === objectB); // true
`
Note: In Node.js, circular references are displayed using notation, whereas browsers will still throw a "Converting circular structure to JSON" error if you try to directly JSON.stringify() an unresolved circular object.
`js
import { parseCircularReferences, stringifyCircularReferences } from "circular-reference";
// Two arrays and two objects
const array1 = [];
const array2 = [];
const object1 = {};
const object2 = {};
// Each object references all objects and arrays (including itself)
object1["array1"] = array1;
object1["array2"] = array2;
object1["object1"] = object1;
object1["object2"] = object2;
object2["array1"] = array1;
object2["array2"] = array2;
object2["object1"] = object1;
object2["object2"] = object2;
// Each array references all objects and arrays (including itself)
array1.push(array1);
array1.push(array2);
array1.push(object1);
array1.push(object2);
array2.push(array1);
array2.push(array2);
array2.push(object1);
array2.push(object2);
// Save the object as a json string
stringifyCircularReferences(object1);
const dataString = JSON.stringify(object1, null, 2);
console.log(dataString);
/* Output:
{
"array1": [
"
[
"
"
"
{
"array1": "
"array2": "
"object1": "
"object2": "
}
],
"
"
],
"array2": "
"object1": "
"object2": "
}
*/
// Parse the object again
const data = JSON.parse(dataString);
// Resolve the circular references
parseCircularReferences(data);
// Now you have a clone of the original object with the same structure and values
console.log(data);
/* Output in Node.js (browser would throw a "Converting circular structure to JSON" error):
{
array1: [
[Circular *1],
[
[Circular *1],
[Circular *2],
[Circular *3],
[Object]
],
[Circular *3],
{
array1: [Circular *1],
array2: [Array],
object1: [Circular *3],
object2: [Circular *4]
}
],
array2: [
[
[Circular *1],
[Circular *2],
[Circular *3],
[Object]
],
[Circular *2],
[Circular *3],
{
array1: [Array],
array2: [Circular *2],
object1: [Circular *3],
object2: [Circular *4]
}
],
object1: [Circular *3],
object2: {
array1: [
[Circular *1],
[Array],
[Circular *3],
[Circular *4]
],
array2: [
[Array],
[Circular *2],
[Circular *3],
[Circular *4]
],
object1: [Circular *3],
object2: [Circular *4]
}
}
``NPM Package Link
https://www.npmjs.com/package/circular-reference