Glossary · APIs and integrations
JSON
A structured text format commonly used to exchange named values, lists, and objects between software systems.
Definition
JavaScript Object Notation represents structured data with objects, arrays, strings, numbers, booleans, and null values. Many APIs and MCP messages use JSON because it is readable by many programming languages and straightforward to validate against a schema.
Why it matters
Structured responses can be stored, compared, transformed, or turned into reports more reliably than copying values manually from a dashboard.
Common misunderstanding
JSON describes structure, not truth. A valid JSON response can still contain stale, incomplete, or misunderstood data.
Related terms
Related system family: Secure Integrations & Custom Tools
Sources
- Model Context Protocol architecture overview (opens in a new tab) · Model Context Protocol
- GitHub REST API documentation (opens in a new tab) · GitHub Docs
Last reviewed July 16, 2026