{"record":{"id":"8dfed80314c3aa53","repo":"karatelabs/karate","slug":"unterminated-json-string","errorCode":null,"errorMessage":"Unterminated JSON string","messagePattern":"Unterminated JSON string","errorType":"exception","errorClass":null,"httpStatus":null,"severity":"error","filePath":"karate-js/src/main/java/io/karatelabs/js/JsonParser.java","lineNumber":234,"sourceCode":"                            break;\n                        case 't':\n                            sb.append('\\t');\n                            break;\n                        case 'u':\n                            sb.append(parseHex4());\n                            break;\n                        default:\n                            throw syntaxError(\"Invalid escape '\\\\\" + esc + \"' in JSON string\");\n                    }\n                    continue;\n                }\n                if (c < 0x20) {\n                    throw syntaxError(\"Invalid control character in JSON string\");\n                }\n                sb.append(c);\n                pos++;\n            }\n            throw syntaxError(\"Unterminated JSON string\");\n        }\n\n        private char parseHex4() {\n            if (pos + 4 > len) {\n                throw syntaxError(\"Invalid \\\\u escape in JSON string\");\n            }\n            int v = 0;\n            for (int i = 0; i < 4; i++) {\n                char h = s.charAt(pos + i);\n                int d;\n                if (h >= '0' && h <= '9') d = h - '0';\n                else if (h >= 'a' && h <= 'f') d = 10 + (h - 'a');\n                else if (h >= 'A' && h <= 'F') d = 10 + (h - 'A');\n                else throw syntaxError(\"Invalid hex digit '\" + h + \"' in \\\\u escape\");\n                v = (v << 4) | d;\n            }\n            pos += 4;\n            return (char) v;","sourceCodeStart":216,"sourceCodeEnd":252,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/karatelabs/karate/blob/a22eb90246d958d15a47bf436693d0121ad2812d/karate-js/src/main/java/io/karatelabs/js/JsonParser.java#L216-L252","documentation":"Thrown by JsonParser.parseString when the closing double quote of a JSON string is never found — the input ends while still inside a string. Every JSON string must be terminated by '\"', so a string that runs to end-of-input is malformed.","triggerScenarios":"Parsing input like '{\"a\": \"value' — an opening quote with no matching closing quote before end of input, usually from truncation or a missing/escaped-away quote.","commonSituations":"Truncated HTTP bodies or file reads, an accidental '\\\"' that escaped the intended closing quote, template interpolation that dropped the quote, hand-edited JSON missing the final quote.","solutions":["Inspect the string being parsed and add the missing closing '\"'.","Check for an unintended backslash before the closing quote ('\\\"' escapes it) and remove or double the backslash.","Verify the payload wasn't truncated in transit — read the full response/file.","Use a JSON serializer to produce strings so quoting is always balanced."],"exampleFix":"// before\n'{\"name\": \"karate' // missing closing quote\n// after\n'{\"name\": \"karate\"}'","handlingStrategy":"validation","validationCode":"// Check quote balance (ignoring escapes) before parsing\nstatic boolean hasUnterminatedString(String s) {\n    boolean inStr = false;\n    for (int i = 0; s != null && i < s.length(); i++) {\n        char c = s.charAt(i);\n        if (c == '\\\\') { i++; continue; }\n        if (c == '\"') inStr = !inStr;\n    }\n    return inStr;\n}","typeGuard":null,"tryCatchPattern":"try {\n    return Json.parse(raw);\n} catch (JsonSyntaxException e) {\n    if (e.getMessage().equals(\"Unterminated JSON string\")) {\n        throw new IllegalArgumentException(\"Missing closing quote; raw=\" + raw, e);\n    }\n    throw e;\n}","preventionTips":["Verify the full payload arrived (length/status checks) before parsing.","Watch for accidental \\\" sequences that swallow the intended closing quote.","Use an editor with JSON syntax highlighting to spot unbalanced quotes.","Prefer serializers for string content containing quotes."],"tags":["json","syntax-error","unterminated-string"],"backgroundTag":"json-parse-error","analyzedSha":"a22eb90246d958d15a47bf436693d0121ad2812d","analyzedAt":"2026-09-12T09:01:00.220Z","contentChangedAt":"2026-09-12T09:01:00.220Z","schemaVersion":2},"datasetVersion":"2026-09-19T12:17:13.211Z"}