# google/gson

A Java serialization/deserialization library to convert Java Objects into JSON and back

Repository: https://github.com/google/gson
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/gson
Language: Java
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Last push: 2026-08-26T14:40:52+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 88/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 68, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4185, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": 132, "gap_med": 70, "n_releases_24m": 6}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 24225, forks 4466 (observed 2026-08-28T04:11:35.788095+00:00)

## What it is
Gson is a Java library for converting Java objects to JSON and back, working with arbitrary objects via reflection without requiring annotations. It is now in maintenance mode, with bugs fixed but no large new features planned.

## Use cases
- serialize java objects to json
- parse json into java objects
- convert json to pojo without annotations
- handle json with java generics
- serialize legacy classes without source access

## When to choose
- you need JSON serialization for plain Java objects without adding annotations
- you work with pre-existing classes you cannot modify
- you need strong Java Generics support in JSON conversion

## When to avoid
- you are building an Android app where reflection conflicts with R8/ProGuard shrinking
- you use Kotlin or Scala and need language-specific features like null safety or default arguments
- you need a library with active feature development

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: maintenance
- function: serialization, json
- domain: developer-tools, backend, apis
- platform: jvm
- tags: json-serialization, reflection-based, java-library, google

## Member repositories
- google/gson (main) score 88

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:35.788095+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T16:56:16.219722+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/google/gson (fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:35.788095+00:00, sha af9828d4d661)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.