PHP Array to Table Converter

How to use the PHP Array to Table tool

1. Paste a PHP array literal into the left editor, using either array( ... ) or the short [ ... ] syntax. Upload PHP loads a file and Load URL fetches one; Dummy Data shows a sample.
2. The table appears as you type. A list of associative arrays becomes rows and columns; a list of plain arrays uses numeric indexes 0, 1, 2 as column headers.
3. Nested arrays inside a cell are shown as JSON text so the table stays rectangular. Comments starting with // or /* are ignored.
4. A syntax problem such as a missing comma shows "Error: Expected , or ]" above the editor. Fix the line and the table returns.
5. Use Copy for Email to paste the table into Gmail, Outlook or Google Docs, Copy HTML for bare <table> markup, or Copy Markdown for a pipe table in a README or pull request.
6. A record count appears in the footer; Clear empties the editor.

How to display a PHP array as an HTML table

<?php
$users = [
    ["id" => 1, "name" => "John Doe", "role" => "Admin", "active" => true],
    ["id" => 2, "name" => "Jane Smith", "role" => "User", "active" => false],
];

// Header from the keys of the first row
$columns = array_keys($users[0]);

echo "<table>\n<thead><tr>";
foreach ($columns as $c) echo "<th>" . htmlspecialchars($c) . "</th>";
echo "</tr></thead>\n<tbody>\n";
foreach ($users as $row) {
    echo "<tr>";
    foreach ($columns as $c) {
        $v = $row[$c] ?? "";
        if (is_bool($v)) $v = $v ? "true" : "false";
        if (is_array($v)) $v = json_encode($v);
        echo "<td>" . htmlspecialchars((string) $v) . "</td>";
    }
    echo "</tr>\n";
}
echo "</tbody>\n</table>\n";

<?php
$users = [
    ["id" => 1, "name" => "John Doe", "role" => "Admin"],
    ["id" => 2, "name" => "Jane Smith", "role" => "User"],
];

// var_export() prints valid PHP you can paste into the tool later
var_export($users);
echo PHP_EOL;

// json_encode() hands the same data to JavaScript or Python
echo json_encode($users, JSON_PRETTY_PRINT), PHP_EOL;

// print_r() is for humans only: it is not parseable

// The array exported from PHP with json_encode($users)
const users = [
  { id: 1, name: "John Doe", role: "Admin" },
  { id: 2, name: "Jane Smith", role: "User" },
];

const columns = Object.keys(users[0]);
const esc = (v) => String(v ?? "").replace(/&/g, "&amp;").replace(/</g, "&lt;");

const table = document.createElement("table");
table.innerHTML =
  `<thead><tr>${columns.map((c) => `<th>${esc(c)}</th>`).join("")}</tr></thead>` +
  `<tbody>${users.map((u) => `<tr>${columns.map((c) => `<td>${esc(u[c])}</td>`).join("")}</tr>`).join("")}</tbody>`;
document.body.appendChild(table);

Common errors and how to fix them

Error: Expected , or ]

A comma is missing between two elements, or a bracket does not match its opener. Check the line before the one that looks wrong; a trailing comma after the last element is fine.

Error: Unterminated string

A quote was opened and never closed, often an apostrophe inside a single-quoted string such as 'John's'. Escape it as \' or switch to double quotes.

print_r() output produces no table

print_r() prints Array ( [id] => 1 ) which is not PHP syntax. Use var_export($arr) instead, which prints a literal the tool can parse.

Column headers are 0, 1, 2 instead of field names

The rows are plain lists rather than associative arrays. Use string keys such as "name" => "John" in each row, or accept the numeric headers.

Variables, constants or function calls show up as raw text

The parser reads literals only. $userId, PHP_EOL or date("Y") cannot be evaluated in the browser. Replace them with the values you expect, or run var_export() on the real array first.

Good to know