PLOON (Path-Level Object Oriented Notation) is a token-efficient data format that achieves up to 60% token reduction vs JSON and 14.1% vs TOON through path-based hierarchy and single schema declaration.

How much token reduction does PLOON achieve?

PLOON achieves up to 60% token reduction compared to JSON and 14.1% compared to TOON. At scale, the savings can reach 70%+ for large datasets.

What programming languages support PLOON?

PLOON is currently available for JavaScript/TypeScript via npm. Support for Python, C#, Go, Rust, Java, and 10+ other languages is coming soon.

Version 1.0November 2025

PLOON

Path-Level Object Oriented Notation

The Most Token-Efficient Format for Nested Hierarchical Data

60%

fewer tokens vs JSON

14.1%

fewer tokens vs TOON

66.2%

smaller file size vs JSON

See How It Works Try Converter View on GitHub

Quick Example

[products#1](id,name,price,colors#(name,hex))

1:1|1|Shirt|29.99
2:1|Red|#FF0000
2:2|Blue|#0000FF

Simple. Readable. Efficient.

Get Started with PLOON

Install the CLI or use it programmatically in your applications

CLI Tool

npm install -g ploon-cli
ploon data.json --minify

NPM Package

npm install ploon
import {stringify} from 'ploon'

View Documentation Read Specification

Token Efficiency Comparison

Lower is better. PLOON dramatically reduces token consumption for LLM contexts.

PLOON CompactWINNER

1544 tokens3197 chars-51%

1544

PLOON Standard

1544 tokens3198 chars-51%

1544

TOON

2008 tokens6551 chars-36%

2008

JSON Compact

3130 tokens13412 chars

3130

Scaling Benefits

Dataset Size	PLOON Compact	TOON	JSON Compact	Savings
2 products	1,544	2,008	3,130	50.7%
100 products	73,770	96,490	156,500	52.9%
1,000 products	737,070	963,070	1,565,000	52.9%
10,000 products	7,370,070	9,630,070	15,650,000	52.9%
100,000 products	73,700,070	96,300,070	156,500,000	52.9%

PLOON maintains consistent ~53% savings vs JSON by eliminating field name repetition

Format Comparison

See the difference for yourself with real e-commerce data

PLOON Compact

Production-optimized, semicolon-separated

103

tokens

392

characters

-97%

vs JSON

[products#2](id,name,price,colors#(name,hex,sizes#(size,sku,stock)));;1:1|1|Shirt|29.99;2:1|Red|#FF0000;3:1|S|SH-R-S|50;3:2|M|SH-R-M|30;3:3|L|SH-R-L|20;2:2|Blue|#0000FF;3:1|S|SH-B-S|40;3:2|M|SH-B-M|25;3:3|L|SH-B-L|10;1:2|2|Pants|49.99;2:1|Black|#000000;3:1|30|PT-B-30|15;3:2|32|PT-B-32|20;3:3|34|PT-B-34|12;2:2|Gray|#808080;3:1|30|PT-G-30|18;3:2|32|PT-G-32|22;3:3|34|PT-G-34|14

📉

Zero Indentation

Path-based hierarchy eliminates all indentation overhead

🎯

Single Schema

Declared once for entire hierarchy, not repeated per level

🚀

Query-Friendly

Path notation enables O(1) regex filtering and queries

How PLOON Works

Three simple concepts make PLOON the most efficient format

Dual Path Notation

depth:index for arrays, depth for objects:

1:1       ← Order (array element)
2         ← Customer (object)
3         ← Address (nested object)
2:1       ← Item 1 (array element)
2:2       ← Item 2 (array element)

Explicit relationships with zero indentation overhead

Single Schema Declaration

The entire structure is declared once at the top:

[orders#1](
  id,
  customer{
    name,
    address{city,zip}
  },
  items#(id,name,price)
)

No key repetition across records - declared once!

Dual Format Strategy

Two formats for different needs:

Standard (newline)

Human-readable, debugging

Compact (semicolon)

Production, LLM contexts

Simple conversion: replace newlines with semicolons

PLOON Grammar

Schema Syntax

[root#count](field1,nested#(...),object{...})

• [ ] - Root container with count
• ( ) - Field list
• , - Field separator
• #( ) - Nested array
• { } - Nested object

Data Syntax

Arrays: depth:index | Objects: depth

• depth:index - Array path (e.g., 1:1, 2:3)
• depth - Object path (e.g., 2 , 3 )
• | - Field delimiter
• \n - Record separator (Standard)
• ; - Record separator (Compact)
• \ - Escape character

Real-World Cost Savings

Calculate your savings with PLOON based on your usage

Your Parameters

Records per Query1,000

1010,000

Queries per Day10,000

101,000,000

Cost per Million Tokens ($)$1.25

$0.5$50

Tokens per query (PLOON):5,570

Tokens per query (TOON):7,090

Tokens per query (JSON):17,000

Annual Savings with PLOON

$51,435

vs JSON

$6,840

vs TOON

PLOON

$2089

per month

TOON

$2659

per month

JSON

$6375

per month

Monthly Token Usage

PLOON:1671.0M

TOON:2127.0M

JSON:5100.0M

Multi-Language Support

PLOON implementations across all major programming languages

Available Now

🟨Available

JavaScript/TypeScript

ploon-js

npm install ploon

Coming Soon

🔷Soon

.NET

Ploon.NET

⚙️Soon

C++

ploon-cpp

💎Soon

Crystal

ploon-crystal

🎯Soon

Dart

ploon

💧Soon

Elixir

ploon

✨Soon

Gleam

ploon

🐹Soon

Go

ploon-go

☕Soon

Java

ploon

🌙Soon

Lua/Neovim

ploon.nvim

🐫Soon

OCaml

ploon

🐘Soon

PHP

ploon-php

🐍Soon

Python

ploon

💎Soon

Ruby

ploon

🦅Soon

Swift

SwiftPloon

Get Started with PLOON

Install the CLI or use it programmatically in your applications

CLI Tool

npm install -g ploon-cli
ploon data.json --minify

NPM Package

npm install ploon
import {stringify} from 'ploon'

View Documentation Read Specification