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# parse

> Use the parse task to parse a JSON string and return a JavaScript object.

The `parse` task parses a JSON string and returns a JavaScript object. If a malformed JSON string is passed, an exception is thrown. This task is useful when dealing with JSON-formatted content.

## Potential use case

Some systems return an XML payload that contains stringified JSON. The `parse` task reforms the string into a working JSON object so that the individual data components within the object can be accessed.

## Properties

| Input  | Type   | Description                                                                             |
| :----- | :----- | :-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `text` | String | Required. The JSON string to parse. If the string is malformed, an exception is thrown. |

| Output       | Type   | Description                                               |
| :----------- | :----- | :-------------------------------------------------------- |
| `textObject` | Object | The JSON object returned when the input `text` is parsed. |

## Example

The `text` string to parse is statically set to `{"firstName": "John", "lastName": "Smith", "age": 22, "state": "California"}`.

![](/_fern-img/1babf4e4586b2e01d56b3765b4e9a4b4293e14981a8ba02f6c43c4024e6c2762.webp)

The outgoing `textObject` variable is:

```json
{
  "firstName": "John",
  "lastName": "Smith",
  "age": 22,
  "state": "California"
}
```

![](/_fern-img/e13481e7dde287200a339b255da81f8bbd2b8ff2b481963c22465f6f6d4b40aa.webp)