ElectronNET/Electron.NET · error · JsonException

Unexpected end while reading array.

Error message

Unexpected end while reading array.

What it means

JsonToBoxedPrimitivesConverter.ReadValue, when parsing a JSON array into a List<object>, throws this JsonException if the reader is exhausted before the EndArray token is reached. It signals the JSON stream ended while still inside an array.

Solutions

1. Close all arrays with ']' and validate the JSON before sending
2. Check the transport layer for truncation of large payloads
3. Log the raw payload on failure to locate the cut point
4. Round-trip through JSON.parse on the sender to catch malformed output

Example fix

// before
var json = "[1, 2, 3"; // missing ]
// after
var json = "[1, 2, 3]";

bool isCompleteArray(string json) =>
    json.TrimStart().StartsWith("[") && json.TrimEnd().EndsWith("]");

try
{
    var value = JsonSerializer.Deserialize<object>(json, ElectronJson.Options);
}
catch (JsonException ex)
{
    logger.LogWarning(ex, "Incomplete JSON array: {Raw}", json);
}

When it happens

Trigger: An array missing its closing bracket, e.g. '[1, 2, 3' with no ']', or the stream ending mid-array during IPC transmission.

Common situations: Truncated IPC payloads; building arrays via string concatenation and dropping the closing bracket; incomplete reads from a stream.

Understand the failure class

Background: JSON parse error: "Unexpected token" / "not valid JSON" / "failed to parse" — what JSON parsers are really complaining about — this error's family across 45 libraries.

Related errors

• Unexpected end while reading property value.
• Unexpected end while reading object.
• Expected property name.
• Unknown release notes format.
• Could not parse version from release notes header.

AI-assisted analysis of ElectronNET/Electron.NET@87cc6f98b6 (2026-09-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/536d2f46697a3606. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/ElectronNET.API/Serialization/JsonToBoxedPrimitivesConverter.cs:58

                        obj[name] = ReadValue(ref r);
                    }

                    throw new JsonException("Unexpected end while reading object.");

                case JsonTokenType.StartArray:

                    var list = new List<object>();
                    while (r.Read())
                    {
                        if (r.TokenType == JsonTokenType.EndArray)
                        {
                            return list;
                        }

                        list.Add(ReadValue(ref r));
                    }

                    throw new JsonException("Unexpected end while reading array.");

                case JsonTokenType.True: return true;
                case JsonTokenType.False: return false;
                case JsonTokenType.Null: return null;

                case JsonTokenType.Number:

                    if (r.TryGetInt32(out int i))
                    {
                        return i;
                    }

                    if (r.TryGetInt64(out long l))
                    {
                        return l;
                    }

                    if (r.TryGetDouble(out double d))

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