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Add GitHub Gist loading capability to json-string-extractor#69

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simonw merged 5 commits intomainfrom
copilot/add-load-gist-option
Oct 18, 2025
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Add GitHub Gist loading capability to json-string-extractor#69
simonw merged 5 commits intomainfrom
copilot/add-load-gist-option

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Copilot AI commented Oct 18, 2025

Closes the issue by adding the ability to load JSON data from GitHub Gists.

What's New

The json-string-extractor tool now supports loading JSON files directly from GitHub Gists. This makes it easy to share and analyze JSON data without needing to copy-paste large amounts of text.

How It Works

Load Gist Button: A new "Load Gist" button appears next to the existing "Load example JSON" button. When clicked, it prompts you to enter either:

  • A full Gist URL (e.g., https://gist.github.com/simonw/1d1013ba059af76461153722005a039d)
  • Just the Gist ID (e.g., 1d1013ba059af76461153722005a039d)

Smart JSON Detection: The tool fetches the Gist from GitHub's API and automatically finds the first valid JSON file in it, even if the Gist contains multiple files.

URL Hash Integration: When a Gist is loaded, the URL updates to include #gist=gist-id. This means you can share a direct link to the tool with a specific Gist pre-loaded, like:

https://tools.simonwillison.net/json-string-extractor#gist=1d1013ba059af76461153722005a039d

Auto-loading: If you visit the tool with a #gist=gist-id hash in the URL, the Gist is automatically loaded when the page opens.

Implementation Details

  • Uses the browser's prompt() API as specified in the requirements
  • Case-insensitive Gist ID matching for robustness
  • Proper error handling for invalid Gist IDs, network failures, and Gists without JSON files
  • All existing functionality (manual paste, example JSON) remains unchanged
  • Minimal code changes (101 lines added)

Screenshots

New "Load Gist" button in the UI:

UI with Load Gist button

Tool successfully extracting strings from JSON loaded from a Gist:

Tool working with JSON extraction

Warning

Firewall rules blocked me from connecting to one or more addresses (expand for details)

I tried to connect to the following addresses, but was blocked by firewall rules:

  • https://api.github.com/gists/1d1013ba059af76461153722005a039d
    • Triggering command: curl -s REDACTED (http block)

If you need me to access, download, or install something from one of these locations, you can either:

Original prompt

This section details on the original issue you should resolve

<issue_title>json-string-extractor ability to load data from gists</issue_title>
<issue_description>https://tools.simonwillison.net/json-string-extractor should have an option to load a GitHub Gist. This should present as a "Load Gist" button which, when clicked, uses the prompt() browser API to ask for a URL to a Gist (it accepts just the Gist ID too). It then fetch() fetches that Gist and uses the first file in there that is valid JSON as input to the tool also updating the #fragment hash in the URL to have #gist=gist-ID in it.

When the page first loads if #gist=gist-id is present the tool automatically loads that Gist using the same mechanism.</issue_description>

Comments on the Issue (you are @copilot in this section)

Fixes #68


✨ Let Copilot coding agent set things up for you — coding agent works faster and does higher quality work when set up for your repo.

Co-authored-by: simonw <9599+simonw@users.noreply.github.com>
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Copilot AI and others added 3 commits October 18, 2025 18:07
Co-authored-by: simonw <9599+simonw@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: simonw <9599+simonw@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: simonw <9599+simonw@users.noreply.github.com>
Copilot AI changed the title [WIP] Add ability to load data from GitHub Gists Add GitHub Gist loading capability to json-string-extractor Oct 18, 2025
Copilot AI requested a review from simonw October 18, 2025 18:11
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simonw commented Oct 18, 2025

@simonw simonw marked this pull request as ready for review October 18, 2025 18:12
@simonw simonw merged commit c21a1c9 into main Oct 18, 2025
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@simonw simonw deleted the copilot/add-load-gist-option branch October 18, 2025 18:12
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json-string-extractor ability to load data from gists

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