The tool stores comments in a .jsonc file and maintains clean JSON in the original file.

jsonc.py

#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""
JSON with Comments editor - Edit JSON files with comments

Usage:
  ./jsonc <file>    - Edit JSON with comments in your editor
  cat <file>        - View clean JSON without comments

The tool stores comments in a .jsonc file and maintains clean JSON in the original file.
"""

import sys
import json
import os
import subprocess
import tempfile
import re

def strip_comments(text):
    """Remove // and /* */ style comments from JSON text"""
    # Remove /* */ comments
    text = re.sub(r'/\*.*?\*/', '', text, flags=re.DOTALL)
    # Remove // comments
    lines = []
    for line in text.split('\n'):
        in_string = False
        escape = False
        for i, char in enumerate(line):
            if escape:
                escape = False
                continue
            if char == '\\':
                escape = True
                continue
            if char == '"':
                in_string = not in_string
            if char == '/' and i + 1 < len(line) and line[i + 1] == '/' and not in_string:
                line = line[:i]
                break
        lines.append(line)
    return '\n'.join(lines)

def edit_json(json_path):
    """Edit JSON with comments"""
    base = os.path.splitext(json_path)[0]
    jsonc_path = base + '.jsonc'
    
    # Determine what content to edit
    if os.path.exists(jsonc_path):
        # Edit existing .jsonc file
        with open(jsonc_path, 'r') as f:
            content = f.read()
    elif os.path.exists(json_path):
        # Create .jsonc from existing .json
        with open(json_path, 'r') as f:
            content = f.read()
        print(f"Creating {jsonc_path} from {json_path}")
    else:
        # Create new file with template
        content = """{
  // Add your configuration here
  "example": "value"
}"""
        print(f"Creating new files: {json_path} and {jsonc_path}")
    
    # Open in editor
    editor = os.environ.get('EDITOR', 'nano')
    with tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(mode='w', suffix='.jsonc', delete=False) as tf:
        tf.write(content)
        temp_path = tf.name
    
    try:
        subprocess.run([editor, temp_path], check=True)
        
        # Read edited content
        with open(temp_path, 'r') as f:
            new_content = f.read()
        
        # Validate JSON
        try:
            data = json.loads(strip_comments(new_content))
        except json.JSONDecodeError as e:
            print(f"Error: Invalid JSON: {e}", file=sys.stderr)
            sys.exit(1)
        
        # Save .jsonc with comments
        with open(jsonc_path, 'w') as f:
            f.write(new_content)
        
        # Save .json without comments (pretty-printed)
        with open(json_path, 'w') as f:
            json.dump(data, f, indent=2)
        
        print(f"Saved {json_path} (clean) and {jsonc_path} (with comments)")
        
    finally:
        os.unlink(temp_path)

def main():
    if len(sys.argv) < 2:
        print(__doc__)
        sys.exit(1)
    
    edit_json(sys.argv[1])

if __name__ == '__main__':
    main()