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Converting JSON to PHP arrays and classes

PHP represents JSON data as associative arrays (json_decode with true) or stdClass objects. This tool generates PHP code showing both: a typed class definition with PHPDoc annotations, and an associative array literal for direct use in scripts.

The converter generates PHP 8.0+ class definitions with typed properties, constructor promotion, and nullable types. JSON objects map to classes, arrays to array<int, T>, and primitives to PHP native types. Output includes PHPDoc @var annotations for IDE autocompletion and PHPStan analysis.

{
  "name": "Alice",
  "age": 30,
  "roles": ["admin"],
  "bio": null
}

<?php
class Root {
    public function __construct(
        public string $name,
        public int $age,
        public array $roles,
        public ?string $bio,
    ) {}
}

// Or as array:
$data = [
    'name' => 'Alice',
    'age' => 30,
    'roles' => ['admin'],
    'bio' => null,
];

Get the most out of this tool

• Use json_decode($json, true) for arrays or json_decode($json) for stdClass — the second parameter controls output type.
• PHP 8.0+ constructor promotion reduces boilerplate: public function __construct(public string $name) {}
• Add strict_types declaration at the top of generated class files for type safety in PHP.

JSON to PHP conversion explained

PHP has native JSON support through json_decode() and json_encode(), available since PHP 5.2. By default, json_decode() returns stdClass objects for JSON objects and arrays for JSON arrays. To get associative arrays instead of objects, pass true (or JSON_OBJECT_AS_ARRAY) as the second argument. This converter produces PHP array syntax — the format most useful for embedding JSON data directly in PHP code as a native data structure without parsing overhead.

PHP array syntax uses => for key-value association and square brackets (PHP 5.4+) or array() for the older syntax. JSON true becomes PHP true, JSON false becomes PHP false, and JSON null becomes PHP null. JSON numbers map to PHP int or float based on whether they have a decimal component. Strings use single quotes in the PHP output (PHP convention for non-interpolated strings) since JSON string values rarely contain single quotes that would require escaping.

For object-oriented PHP code, converting JSON to PHP class definitions provides type safety and IDE autocomplete. The converter can generate PHP classes with typed properties (PHP 7.4+), constructor promotion (PHP 8.0+), and attribute annotations. Each JSON object becomes a PHP class, and the converter produces __construct() parameters matching the JSON fields, making it straightforward to instantiate and pass around typed objects.

Laravel, the most popular PHP framework, uses JSON extensively. Eloquent models return JSON from APIs, Form Requests validate JSON inputs, and API Resources transform Eloquent models to JSON responses. Laravel's json() helper and response()->json() methods serialize PHP arrays and objects. The converted PHP arrays from this tool work directly with Laravel's Collection, Arr helper, and json_encode() calls throughout a typical Laravel application.

Symfony's Serializer component handles complex JSON-to-PHP-object deserialization with support for nested objects, arrays, and type coercion. It uses class annotations or PHP 8 attributes to define serialization behavior. When working with Symfony APIs, generating a PHP class structure from the JSON and then adding Symfony serializer attributes gives you a robust, validated deserialization pipeline for incoming JSON data.

PHP test fixtures frequently use JSON data to represent API responses or database records. Converting the JSON to a PHP array literal makes it easy to inline test data directly in PHPUnit tests without file loading or JSON parsing. The array literal is immediately readable in the test file, making tests self-documenting and fast to execute.

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