How to divide large Figma JSON data into smaller valid JSON segments

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1

I’m working with a massive Figma JSON file that has around 6000 lines of deeply nested data structures. My goal is to break this huge file into smaller pieces of about 200 lines each so I can process them with an AI language model.

The main challenge I’m facing is making sure each smaller piece remains a properly formatted and valid JSON object. I don’t want to just cut the file at random points because that would create broken JSON syntax.

Does anyone know a good approach to intelligently divide this kind of nested JSON while preserving the structure? I need each segment to be syntactically correct so the API calls don’t fail.

Here’s what my data structure looks like:

{
  "title": "Dashboard Design System",
  "modifiedDate": "2023-08-15T14:22:18Z",
  "previewImage": "https://example-cdn.com/preview123.jpg",
  "buildNumber": "4521789032",
  "userRole": "editor",
  "toolType": "figma",
  "accessLevel": "team_edit",
  "components": {
    "4532:789123": {
      "element": {
        "id": "4532:789123",
        "title": "InputBox",
        "category": "COMPONENT",
        "behavior": "FIXED_SCROLL",
        "renderMode": "NORMAL",
        "childElements": [
          {
            "id": "I4532:789123;621:987654",
            "title": "Label",
            "category": "CONTAINER",
            "behavior": "FIXED_SCROLL",
            "renderMode": "NORMAL"
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}
2

I’d go with recursion to keep parent-child relationships intact. Don’t just grab components - walk through the JSON tree and when you hit your line limit, properly close the current branch with all the closing brackets. You’ll get valid JSON that way and keep the context data components need from their parents.

3

Load the entire JSON into memory first, then rebuild smaller files using the original schema. I hit this same problem with huge design system exports and solved it by treating the components object like a resource pool to split across multiple files. Here’s what works: grab the full JSON and pull out all the root-level stuff (title, modifiedDate, buildNumber, etc.), then redistribute components across new files while keeping the exact same JSON structure. The trick is measuring actual rendered JSON size, not just line counts. Components with deep childElements can be wildly different sizes. I measure each component’s serialized length and group them until I hit about 80% of my target file size - that leaves room for the wrapper structure. Every output file ends up looking identical to your original Figma export, just with fewer components. AI processing works great because each chunk keeps proper context and follows the expected schema. Way more reliable than random splitting or trying to keep parent-child relationships across files.

4

Extract complete top-level properties and handle them separately. Parse the JSON once, identify major sections like metadata, components, styles, etc. Then create chunks where each file has the full metadata plus a subset of components. I hit this same problem with large design files. Treat each component ID as one unit - that’s what worked for me. Count the JSON string length of each component object, group them until you’re near your target size. Always keep the wrapper structure so each chunk looks like a complete Figma export. Here’s a trick: serialize each component separately first to get real size measurements. JSON.stringify each component object and track character count. Prevents surprises where nested elements blow up your file size. Then you can batch them smart while staying under 200 lines.

5

Don’t split by line count - split at logical JSON boundaries. You want complete objects or arrays that actually make sense on their own.

For Figma data, target individual components in the “components” section. Each component like “4532:789123” is self-contained and works perfectly as its own file.

Here’s how I’d automate it:

  1. Parse the main JSON and grab metadata (title, modifiedDate, etc.)
  2. Loop through each component in the “components” object
  3. Create new JSON files - metadata plus one component each
  4. Same header structure, but just one component per file

You’d get clean JSON files like:

{
  "title": "Dashboard Design System",
  "modifiedDate": "2023-08-15T14:22:18Z",
  "component": {
    "4532:789123": { /* full component data */ }
  }
}

I deal with this exact problem using automation workflows. Build a process that reads your huge JSON, splits it at component boundaries, and spits out properly formatted smaller files ready for AI processing.

Best part? You can tweak the grouping - maybe 3-5 components per file instead of one, depending on your 200-line target.