diff --git a/TODO b/TODO
index afc68a9c..64d537a1 100644
--- a/TODO
+++ b/TODO
@@ -54,6 +54,15 @@ Soon: Break ground on "Document-level work"
 Output JSON v2
 ==============
 
+XXX
+
+* Reread from perspective of update
+* Test all ignore cases with QTC
+* Test case of correct file with dict before data/datafile
+* Have a test case if possible that exercises the object description
+  which means we need some kind of semantic error that gets caught
+  after creation.
+
 Try to never flatten pages tree. Make sure we do something reasonable
 with pages tree repair. The problem is that if pages tree repair is
 done as a side effect of running --json, the qpdf part of the json may
diff --git a/include/qpdf/QPDF.hh b/include/qpdf/QPDF.hh
index b547fcbd..f3ce4684 100644
--- a/include/qpdf/QPDF.hh
+++ b/include/qpdf/QPDF.hh
@@ -998,7 +998,7 @@ class QPDF
     class JSONReactor: public JSON::Reactor
     {
       public:
-        JSONReactor(QPDF&, bool must_be_complete);
+        JSONReactor(QPDF&, std::string const& filename, bool must_be_complete);
         virtual ~JSONReactor() = default;
         virtual void dictionaryStart() override;
         virtual void arrayStart() override;
@@ -1008,31 +1008,51 @@ class QPDF
         dictionaryItem(std::string const& key, JSON const& value) override;
         virtual bool arrayItem(JSON const& value) override;
 
+        bool anyErrors() const;
+
       private:
         enum state_e {
             st_initial,
             st_top,
-            st_ignore,
             st_qpdf,
-            st_objects_top,
-            st_trailer_top,
+            st_objects,
+            st_trailer,
             st_object_top,
             st_stream,
             st_object,
+            st_ignore,
         };
 
         void containerStart();
         void nestedState(std::string const& key, JSON const& value, state_e);
+        QPDFObjectHandle makeObject(JSON const& value);
+        void error(size_t offset, std::string const& message);
+        QPDFObjectHandle
+        reserveObject(std::string const& obj, std::string const& gen);
+        void replaceObject(
+            QPDFObjectHandle to_replace, QPDFObjectHandle replacement);
 
         QPDF& pdf;
+        std::string filename;
         bool must_be_complete;
+        bool errors;
+        bool parse_error;
         bool saw_qpdf;
+        bool saw_objects;
         bool saw_json_version;
         bool saw_pdf_version;
         bool saw_trailer;
         state_e state;
         state_e next_state;
+        std::string cur_object;
+        bool saw_value;
+        bool saw_stream;
+        bool saw_dict;
+        bool saw_data;
+        bool saw_datafile;
         std::vector<state_e> state_stack;
+        std::vector<QPDFObjectHandle> object_stack;
+        std::set<QPDFObjGen> reserved;
     };
     friend class JSONReactor;
 
@@ -1080,6 +1100,7 @@ class QPDF
     void resolveObjectsInStream(int obj_stream_number);
     void stopOnError(std::string const& message);
     QPDFObjectHandle reserveObjectIfNotExists(int objid, int gen);
+    QPDFObjectHandle reserveStream(int objid, int gen);
 
     // Calls finish() on the pipeline when done but does not delete it
     bool pipeStreamData(
diff --git a/include/qpdf/QPDFObjectHandle.hh b/include/qpdf/QPDFObjectHandle.hh
index ec4a9699..5bdafb31 100644
--- a/include/qpdf/QPDFObjectHandle.hh
+++ b/include/qpdf/QPDFObjectHandle.hh
@@ -1431,7 +1431,6 @@ class QPDFObjectHandle
         {
             return QPDFObjectHandle::newIndirect(qpdf, objid, generation);
         }
-        // object must be dictionary object
         static QPDFObjectHandle
         newStream(
             QPDF* qpdf,
diff --git a/libqpdf/QPDF.cc b/libqpdf/QPDF.cc
index 1807a838..c353bc4c 100644
--- a/libqpdf/QPDF.cc
+++ b/libqpdf/QPDF.cc
@@ -2166,6 +2166,13 @@ QPDF::reserveObjectIfNotExists(int objid, int gen)
     return getObjectByID(objid, gen);
 }
 
+QPDFObjectHandle
+QPDF::reserveStream(int objid, int gen)
+{
+    return QPDFObjectHandle::Factory::newStream(
+        this, objid, gen, QPDFObjectHandle::newDictionary(), 0, 0);
+}
+
 QPDFObjectHandle
 QPDF::getObjectByObjGen(QPDFObjGen const& og)
 {
diff --git a/libqpdf/QPDF_json.cc b/libqpdf/QPDF_json.cc
index 2f74a673..d71c75ba 100644
--- a/libqpdf/QPDF_json.cc
+++ b/libqpdf/QPDF_json.cc
@@ -1,40 +1,101 @@
 #include <qpdf/QPDF.hh>
 
 #include <qpdf/FileInputSource.hh>
+#include <qpdf/QIntC.hh>
 #include <qpdf/QTC.hh>
 #include <qpdf/QUtil.hh>
 #include <regex>
 
-namespace
-{
-    class JSONExc: public std::runtime_error
-    {
-      public:
-        JSONExc(JSON const& value, std::string const& msg) :
-            std::runtime_error(
-                "offset " + QUtil::uint_to_string(value.getStart()) + ": " +
-                msg)
-        {
-        }
-    };
-} // namespace
+// This chart shows an example of the state transitions that would
+// occur in parsing a minimal file.
+
+//                                | st_initial
+// {                              |   -> st_top
+//   "qpdf": {                    |   -> st_qpdf
+//     "objects": {               |   -> st_objects
+//       "obj:1 0 R": {           |   -> st_object_top
+//         "value": {             |   -> st_object
+//           "/Pages": "2 0 R",   |   ...
+//           "/Type": "/Catalog"  |   ...
+//         }                      |   <- st_object_top
+//       },                       |   <- st_objects
+//       "obj:2 0 R": {           |   -> st_object_top
+//         "value": 12            |   -> st_object
+//         }                      |   <- st_object_top
+//       },                       |   <- st_objects
+//       "obj:4 0 R": {           |   -> st_object_top
+//         "stream": {            |   -> st_stream
+//           "data": "cG90YXRv",  |   ...
+//           "dict": {            |   -> st_object
+//             "/K": true         |   ...
+//           }                    |   <- st_stream
+//         }                      |   <- st_object_top
+//       },                       |   <- st_objects
+//       "trailer": {             |   -> st_trailer
+//         "value": {             |   -> st_object
+//           "/Root": "1 0 R",    |   ...
+//           "/Size": 7           |   ...
+//         }                      |   <- st_trailer
+//       }                        |   <- st_objects
+//     }                          |   <- st_qpdf
+//   }                            |   <- st_top
+// }                              |   <- st_initial
+
+static char const* JSON_PDF = (
+    // force line break
+    "%PDF-1.3\n"
+    "xref\n"
+    "0 1\n"
+    "0000000000 65535 f \n"
+    "trailer << /Size 1 >>\n"
+    "startxref\n"
+    "9\n"
+    "%%EOF\n");
 
 static std::regex PDF_VERSION_RE("^\\d+\\.\\d+$");
 static std::regex OBJ_KEY_RE("^obj:(\\d+) (\\d+) R$");
+static std::regex INDIRECT_OBJ_RE("^(\\d+) (\\d+) R$");
+static std::regex UNICODE_RE("^u:(.*)$");
+static std::regex BINARY_RE("^b:((?:[0-9a-fA-F]{2})*)$");
+static std::regex NAME_RE("^/.*$");
 
-QPDF::JSONReactor::JSONReactor(QPDF& pdf, bool must_be_complete) :
+QPDF::JSONReactor::JSONReactor(
+    QPDF& pdf, std::string const& filename, bool must_be_complete) :
     pdf(pdf),
+    filename(filename),
     must_be_complete(must_be_complete),
+    errors(false),
+    parse_error(false),
     saw_qpdf(false),
+    saw_objects(false),
     saw_json_version(false),
     saw_pdf_version(false),
     saw_trailer(false),
     state(st_initial),
-    next_state(st_top)
+    next_state(st_top),
+    saw_value(false),
+    saw_stream(false),
+    saw_dict(false),
+    saw_data(false),
+    saw_datafile(false)
 {
     state_stack.push_back(st_initial);
 }
 
+void
+QPDF::JSONReactor::error(size_t offset, std::string const& msg)
+{
+    this->errors = true;
+    this->pdf.warn(
+        qpdf_e_json, this->cur_object, QIntC::to_offset(offset), msg);
+}
+
+bool
+QPDF::JSONReactor::anyErrors() const
+{
+    return this->errors;
+}
+
 void
 QPDF::JSONReactor::containerStart()
 {
@@ -46,7 +107,6 @@ void
 QPDF::JSONReactor::dictionaryStart()
 {
     containerStart();
-    // QXXXQ
 }
 
 void
@@ -57,7 +117,6 @@ QPDF::JSONReactor::arrayStart()
         QTC::TC("qpdf", "QPDF_json top-level array");
         throw std::runtime_error("QPDF JSON must be a dictionary");
     }
-    // QXXXQ
 }
 
 void
@@ -68,23 +127,102 @@ QPDF::JSONReactor::containerEnd(JSON const& value)
     if (state == st_initial) {
         if (!this->saw_qpdf) {
             QTC::TC("qpdf", "QPDF_json missing qpdf");
-            throw std::runtime_error("\"qpdf\" object was not seen");
+            error(0, "\"qpdf\" object was not seen");
+        } else {
+            if (!this->saw_json_version) {
+                QTC::TC("qpdf", "QPDF_json missing json version");
+                error(0, "\"qpdf.jsonversion\" was not seen");
+            }
+            if (must_be_complete && !this->saw_pdf_version) {
+                QTC::TC("qpdf", "QPDF_json missing pdf version");
+                error(0, "\"qpdf.pdfversion\" was not seen");
+            }
+            if (!this->saw_objects) {
+                QTC::TC("qpdf", "QPDF_json missing objects");
+                error(0, "\"qpdf.objects\" was not seen");
+            } else {
+                if (must_be_complete && !this->saw_trailer) {
+                    QTC::TC("qpdf", "QPDF_json missing trailer");
+                    error(0, "\"qpdf.objects.trailer\" was not seen");
+                }
+            }
         }
-        if (!this->saw_json_version) {
-            QTC::TC("qpdf", "QPDF_json missing json version");
-            throw std::runtime_error("\"qpdf.jsonversion\" was not seen");
+    } else if (state == st_objects) {
+        if (parse_error) {
+            // ignore
+        } else if (cur_object == "trailer") {
+            if (!saw_value) {
+                QTC::TC("qpdf", "QPDF_json trailer no value");
+                error(value.getStart(), "\"trailer\" is missing \"value\"");
+            }
+        } else if (saw_value == saw_stream) {
+            QTC::TC("qpdf", "QPDF_json value stream both or neither");
+            error(
+                value.getStart(),
+                "object must have exactly one of \"value\" or \"stream\"");
         }
-        if (must_be_complete && !this->saw_pdf_version) {
-            QTC::TC("qpdf", "QPDF_json missing pdf version");
-            throw std::runtime_error("\"qpdf.pdfversion\" was not seen");
+        object_stack.clear();
+        this->cur_object = "";
+        this->saw_dict = false;
+        this->saw_data = false;
+        this->saw_datafile = false;
+        this->saw_value = false;
+        this->saw_stream = false;
+    } else if (state == st_object_top) {
+        if (saw_stream) {
+            if (!saw_dict) {
+                QTC::TC("qpdf", "QPDF_json stream no dict");
+                error(value.getStart(), "\"stream\" is missing \"dict\"");
+            }
+            if (must_be_complete) {
+                if (saw_data == saw_datafile) {
+                    QTC::TC("qpdf", "QPDF_json data datafile both or neither");
+                    error(
+                        value.getStart(),
+                        "\"stream\" must have exactly one of \"data\" or "
+                        "\"datafile\"");
+                }
+            } else if (saw_data && saw_datafile) {
+                // QXXXQ
+                /// QTC::TC("qpdf", "QPDF_json data and datafile");
+                error(
+                    value.getStart(),
+                    "\"stream\" may at most one of \"data\" or \"datafile\"");
+            }
         }
-        if (must_be_complete && !this->saw_trailer) {
-            /// QTC::TC("qpdf", "QPDF_json missing trailer");
-            throw std::runtime_error("\"qpdf.objects.trailer\" was not seen");
+    } else if ((state == st_stream) || (state == st_object)) {
+        if (!parse_error) {
+            object_stack.pop_back();
         }
+    } else if (state == st_qpdf) {
+        for (auto const& og: this->reserved) {
+            // QXXXQ
+            // QTC::TC("qpdf", "QPDF_json non-trivial null reserved");
+            this->pdf.replaceObject(og, QPDFObjectHandle::newNull());
+        }
+        this->reserved.clear();
     }
+}
 
-    // QXXXQ
+QPDFObjectHandle
+QPDF::JSONReactor::reserveObject(std::string const& obj, std::string const& gen)
+{
+    int o = QUtil::string_to_int(obj.c_str());
+    int g = QUtil::string_to_int(gen.c_str());
+    auto oh = pdf.reserveObjectIfNotExists(o, g);
+    if (oh.isReserved()) {
+        this->reserved.insert(QPDFObjGen(o, g));
+    }
+    return oh;
+}
+
+void
+QPDF::JSONReactor::replaceObject(
+    QPDFObjectHandle to_replace, QPDFObjectHandle replacement)
+{
+    auto og = to_replace.getObjGen();
+    this->reserved.erase(og);
+    this->pdf.replaceObject(og, replacement);
 }
 
 void
@@ -100,16 +238,20 @@ QPDF::JSONReactor::nestedState(
 {
     // Use this method when the next state is for processing a nested
     // dictionary.
-    if (!value.isDictionary()) {
-        throw JSONExc(value, "\"" + key + "\" must be a dictionary");
+    if (value.isDictionary()) {
+        this->next_state = next;
+    } else {
+        error(value.getStart(), "\"" + key + "\" must be a dictionary");
+        this->next_state = st_ignore;
+        this->parse_error = true;
     }
-    this->next_state = next;
 }
 
 bool
 QPDF::JSONReactor::dictionaryItem(std::string const& key, JSON const& value)
 {
     if (state == st_ignore) {
+        QTC::TC("qpdf", "QPDF_json ignoring in st_ignore");
         // ignore
     } else if (state == st_top) {
         if (key == "qpdf") {
@@ -118,6 +260,7 @@ QPDF::JSONReactor::dictionaryItem(std::string const& key, JSON const& value)
         } else {
             // Ignore all other fields for forward compatibility.
             // Don't use nestedState since this can be any type.
+            // QXXXQ QTC
             next_state = st_ignore;
         }
     } else if (state == st_qpdf) {
@@ -126,7 +269,7 @@ QPDF::JSONReactor::dictionaryItem(std::string const& key, JSON const& value)
             std::string v;
             if (!(value.getNumber(v) && (v == "2"))) {
                 QTC::TC("qpdf", "QPDF_json bad json version");
-                throw JSONExc(value, "only JSON version 2 is supported");
+                error(value.getStart(), "only JSON version 2 is supported");
             }
         } else if (key == "pdfversion") {
             this->saw_pdf_version = true;
@@ -141,81 +284,197 @@ QPDF::JSONReactor::dictionaryItem(std::string const& key, JSON const& value)
             }
             if (!version_okay) {
                 QTC::TC("qpdf", "QPDF_json bad pdf version");
-                throw JSONExc(value, "invalid PDF version (must be x.y)");
+                error(value.getStart(), "invalid PDF version (must be x.y)");
             }
         } else if (key == "objects") {
-            nestedState(key, value, st_objects_top);
+            this->saw_objects = true;
+            nestedState(key, value, st_objects);
         } else {
             // ignore unknown keys for forward compatibility
+            // QXXXQ QTC
+            next_state = st_ignore;
         }
-    } else if (state == st_objects_top) {
+    } else if (state == st_objects) {
         std::smatch m;
         if (key == "trailer") {
             this->saw_trailer = true;
-            nestedState(key, value, st_trailer_top);
-            // QXXXQ
+            nestedState(key, value, st_trailer);
+            this->cur_object = "trailer";
         } else if (std::regex_match(key, m, OBJ_KEY_RE)) {
+            // QXXXQ remember to handle null for delete
+            object_stack.push_back(reserveObject(m[1].str(), m[2].str()));
             nestedState(key, value, st_object_top);
-            // QXXXQ
+            this->cur_object = key;
         } else {
             QTC::TC("qpdf", "QPDF_json bad object key");
-            throw JSONExc(
-                value, "object key should be \"trailer\" or \"obj:n n R\"");
+            error(
+                value.getStart(),
+                "object key should be \"trailer\" or \"obj:n n R\"");
+            next_state = st_ignore;
+            parse_error = true;
         }
     } else if (state == st_object_top) {
+        if (object_stack.size() == 0) {
+            throw std::logic_error("no object on stack in st_object_top");
+        }
+        auto tos = object_stack.back();
+        QPDFObjectHandle replacement;
         if (key == "value") {
             // Don't use nestedState since this can have any type.
+            this->saw_value = true;
             next_state = st_object;
-            // QXXXQ
+            replacement = makeObject(value);
+            replaceObject(tos, replacement);
         } else if (key == "stream") {
+            this->saw_stream = true;
             nestedState(key, value, st_stream);
-            // QXXXQ
+            if (tos.isStream()) {
+                // QXXXQ reusing -- need QTC
+            } else {
+                replacement =
+                    pdf.reserveStream(tos.getObjectID(), tos.getGeneration());
+                replaceObject(tos, replacement);
+                replacement.replaceStreamData(
+                    "", "<<>>"_qpdf, "<<>>"_qpdf); // QXXXQ
+            }
         } else {
             // Ignore unknown keys for forward compatibility
+            // QXXXQ QTC
+            next_state = st_ignore;
         }
-    } else if (state == st_trailer_top) {
+        if (replacement.isInitialized()) {
+            object_stack.pop_back();
+            object_stack.push_back(replacement);
+        }
+    } else if (state == st_trailer) {
         if (key == "value") {
+            this->saw_value = true;
             // The trailer must be a dictionary, so we can use nestedState.
             nestedState("trailer.value", value, st_object);
-            // QXXXQ
+            this->pdf.m->trailer = makeObject(value);
         } else if (key == "stream") {
+            // Don't need to set saw_stream here since there's already
+            // an error.
             QTC::TC("qpdf", "QPDF_json trailer stream");
-            throw JSONExc(value, "the trailer may not be a stream");
+            error(value.getStart(), "the trailer may not be a stream");
+            next_state = st_ignore;
+            parse_error = true;
         } else {
             // Ignore unknown keys for forward compatibility
+            // QXXXQ QTC
+            next_state = st_ignore;
         }
     } else if (state == st_stream) {
-        if (key == "dict") {
+        if (object_stack.size() == 0) {
+            throw std::logic_error("no object on stack in st_stream");
+        }
+        auto tos = object_stack.back();
+        if (!tos.isStream()) {
+            // QXXXQ QTC in update mode
+            error(value.getStart(), "this object is not a stream");
+            parse_error = true;
+        } else if (key == "dict") {
+            this->saw_dict = true;
             // Since a stream dictionary must be a dictionary, we can
             // use nestedState to transition to st_value.
             nestedState("stream.dict", value, st_object);
-            // QXXXQ
+            auto dict = makeObject(value);
+            if (dict.isDictionary()) {
+                tos.replaceDict(dict);
+            } else {
+                // An error had already been given by nestedState
+                QTC::TC("qpdf", "QPDF_json stream dict not dict");
+                parse_error = true;
+            }
         } else if (key == "data") {
+            this->saw_data = true;
             // QXXXQ
         } else if (key == "datafile") {
+            this->saw_datafile = true;
             // QXXXQ
         } else {
             // Ignore unknown keys for forward compatibility.
+            // QXXXQ QTC
             next_state = st_ignore;
         }
     } else if (state == st_object) {
-        // QXXXQ
+        if (!parse_error) {
+            auto dict = object_stack.back();
+            if (dict.isStream()) {
+                dict = dict.getDict();
+            }
+            dict.replaceKey(key, makeObject(value));
+        }
     } else {
         throw std::logic_error(
             "QPDF_json: unknown state " + QUtil::int_to_string(state));
     }
-
-    // QXXXQ
     return true;
 }
 
 bool
 QPDF::JSONReactor::arrayItem(JSON const& value)
 {
-    // QXXXQ
+    if (state == st_object) {
+        if (!parse_error) {
+            auto tos = object_stack.back();
+            tos.appendItem(makeObject(value));
+        }
+    }
     return true;
 }
 
+QPDFObjectHandle
+QPDF::JSONReactor::makeObject(JSON const& value)
+{
+    QPDFObjectHandle result;
+    std::string str_v;
+    bool bool_v = false;
+    std::smatch m;
+    if (value.isDictionary()) {
+        result = QPDFObjectHandle::newDictionary();
+        object_stack.push_back(result);
+    } else if (value.isArray()) {
+        result = QPDFObjectHandle::newArray();
+        object_stack.push_back(result);
+    } else if (value.isNull()) {
+        result = QPDFObjectHandle::newNull();
+    } else if (value.getBool(bool_v)) {
+        result = QPDFObjectHandle::newBool(bool_v);
+    } else if (value.getNumber(str_v)) {
+        if (QUtil::is_long_long(str_v.c_str())) {
+            result = QPDFObjectHandle::newInteger(
+                QUtil::string_to_ll(str_v.c_str()));
+        } else {
+            result = QPDFObjectHandle::newReal(str_v);
+        }
+    } else if (value.getString(str_v)) {
+        if (std::regex_match(str_v, m, INDIRECT_OBJ_RE)) {
+            result = reserveObject(m[1].str(), m[2].str());
+        } else if (std::regex_match(str_v, m, UNICODE_RE)) {
+            result = QPDFObjectHandle::newUnicodeString(m[1].str());
+        } else if (std::regex_match(str_v, m, BINARY_RE)) {
+            result = QPDFObjectHandle::newString(QUtil::hex_decode(m[1].str()));
+        } else if (std::regex_match(str_v, m, NAME_RE)) {
+            result = QPDFObjectHandle::newName(str_v);
+        } else {
+            QTC::TC("qpdf", "QPDF_json unrecognized string value");
+            error(value.getStart(), "unrecognized string value");
+            result = QPDFObjectHandle::newNull();
+        }
+    }
+    if (!result.isInitialized()) {
+        throw std::logic_error(
+            "JSONReactor::makeObject didn't initialize the object");
+    }
+
+    // QXXXQ include object number in description
+    result.setObjectDescription(
+        &this->pdf,
+        this->filename + " offset " + QUtil::uint_to_string(value.getStart()));
+    return result;
+}
+
 void
 QPDF::createFromJSON(std::string const& json_file)
 {
@@ -225,6 +484,7 @@ QPDF::createFromJSON(std::string const& json_file)
 void
 QPDF::createFromJSON(std::shared_ptr<InputSource> is)
 {
+    processMemoryFile(is->getName().c_str(), JSON_PDF, strlen(JSON_PDF));
     importJSON(is, true);
 }
 
@@ -243,10 +503,19 @@ QPDF::updateFromJSON(std::shared_ptr<InputSource> is)
 void
 QPDF::importJSON(std::shared_ptr<InputSource> is, bool must_be_complete)
 {
-    JSONReactor reactor(*this, must_be_complete);
+    JSONReactor reactor(*this, is->getName(), must_be_complete);
     try {
         JSON::parse(*is, &reactor);
     } catch (std::runtime_error& e) {
         throw std::runtime_error(is->getName() + ": " + e.what());
     }
+    if (reactor.anyErrors()) {
+        throw std::runtime_error(is->getName() + ": errors found in JSON");
+    }
+    // QXXXQ
+    // std::cout << "trailer:\n" << getTrailer().unparse() << std::endl;
+    // for (auto& oh: getAllObjects()) {
+    //     std::cout << oh.unparse() << ":" << std::endl;
+    //     std::cout << oh.unparseResolved() << std::endl;
+    // }
 }
diff --git a/qpdf/qpdf.testcov b/qpdf/qpdf.testcov
index 69bd350b..efb4d723 100644
--- a/qpdf/qpdf.testcov
+++ b/qpdf/qpdf.testcov
@@ -659,3 +659,12 @@ QPDF_json bad pdf version 0
 QPDF_json top-level array 0
 QPDF_json bad object key 0
 QPDF_json trailer stream 0
+QPDF_json missing trailer 0
+QPDF_json missing objects 0
+QPDF_json ignoring in st_ignore 0
+QPDF_json stream dict not dict 0
+QPDF_json unrecognized string value 0
+QPDF_json data datafile both or neither 0
+QPDF_json stream no dict 0
+QPDF_json trailer no value 0
+QPDF_json value stream both or neither 0
diff --git a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf-json.test b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf-json.test
index 39078a87..89d5cd4e 100644
--- a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf-json.test
+++ b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf-json.test
@@ -33,6 +33,9 @@ my @badfiles = (
     'stream-dict-not-dict',
     'trailer-not-dict',
     'trailer-stream',
+    'missing-trailer',
+    'missing-objects',
+    'obj-key-errors',
     );
 
 $n_tests += scalar(@badfiles);
diff --git a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-bad-json-version1.out b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-bad-json-version1.out
index 1c921c2b..fff93d8a 100644
--- a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-bad-json-version1.out
+++ b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-bad-json-version1.out
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
-qpdf: qjson-bad-json-version1.json: offset 98: only JSON version 2 is supported
+WARNING: qjson-bad-json-version1.json (offset 98): only JSON version 2 is supported
+qpdf: qjson-bad-json-version1.json: errors found in JSON
diff --git a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-bad-json-version2.out b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-bad-json-version2.out
index 756df7fe..351fbb5a 100644
--- a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-bad-json-version2.out
+++ b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-bad-json-version2.out
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
-qpdf: qjson-bad-json-version2.json: offset 98: only JSON version 2 is supported
+WARNING: qjson-bad-json-version2.json (offset 98): only JSON version 2 is supported
+qpdf: qjson-bad-json-version2.json: errors found in JSON
diff --git a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-bad-object-key.out b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-bad-object-key.out
index 91edfc8f..915b5261 100644
--- a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-bad-object-key.out
+++ b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-bad-object-key.out
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
-qpdf: qjson-bad-object-key.json: offset 181: object key should be "trailer" or "obj:n n R"
+WARNING: qjson-bad-object-key.json (offset 181): object key should be "trailer" or "obj:n n R"
+qpdf: qjson-bad-object-key.json: errors found in JSON
diff --git a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-bad-pdf-version1.out b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-bad-pdf-version1.out
index 61331957..2e9f4328 100644
--- a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-bad-pdf-version1.out
+++ b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-bad-pdf-version1.out
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
-qpdf: qjson-bad-pdf-version1.json: offset 119: invalid PDF version (must be x.y)
+WARNING: qjson-bad-pdf-version1.json (offset 119): invalid PDF version (must be x.y)
+qpdf: qjson-bad-pdf-version1.json: errors found in JSON
diff --git a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-bad-pdf-version2.out b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-bad-pdf-version2.out
index 2ef92df4..39ad8446 100644
--- a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-bad-pdf-version2.out
+++ b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-bad-pdf-version2.out
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
-qpdf: qjson-bad-pdf-version2.json: offset 119: invalid PDF version (must be x.y)
+WARNING: qjson-bad-pdf-version2.json (offset 119): invalid PDF version (must be x.y)
+qpdf: qjson-bad-pdf-version2.json: errors found in JSON
diff --git a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-missing-objects.json b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-missing-objects.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a2b4930b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-missing-objects.json
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+{
+  "version": 2,
+  "parameters": {
+    "decodelevel": "none"
+  },
+  "qpdf": {
+    "jsonversion": 2,
+    "pdfversion": "1.3",
+    "maxobjectid": 6
+  }
+}
diff --git a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-missing-objects.out b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-missing-objects.out
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6b0a6715
--- /dev/null
+++ b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-missing-objects.out
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+WARNING: qjson-missing-objects.json: "qpdf.objects" was not seen
+qpdf: qjson-missing-objects.json: errors found in JSON
diff --git a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-missing-trailer.json b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-missing-trailer.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4fcf82aa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-missing-trailer.json
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+{
+  "version": 2,
+  "parameters": {
+    "decodelevel": "none"
+  },
+  "qpdf": {
+    "jsonversion": 2,
+    "pdfversion": "1.3",
+    "maxobjectid": 6,
+    "objects": {
+      "obj:1 0 R": {
+        "value": {
+          "/Pages": "2 0 R",
+          "/Type": "/Catalog"
+        }
+      },
+      "obj:2 0 R": {
+        "value": {
+          "/Count": 1,
+          "/Kids": [
+            "3 0 R"
+          ],
+          "/Type": "/Pages"
+        }
+      },
+      "obj:3 0 R": {
+        "value": {
+          "/Contents": "4 0 R",
+          "/MediaBox": [
+            0,
+            0,
+            612,
+            792
+          ],
+          "/Parent": "2 0 R",
+          "/Resources": {
+            "/Font": {
+              "/F1": "6 0 R"
+            },
+            "/ProcSet": "5 0 R"
+          },
+          "/Type": "/Page"
+        }
+      },
+      "obj:4 0 R": {
+        "stream": {
+          "data": "QlQKICAvRjEgMjQgVGYKICA3MiA3MjAgVGQKICAoUG90YXRvKSBUagpFVAo=",
+          "dict": {}
+        }
+      },
+      "obj:5 0 R": {
+        "value": [
+          "/PDF",
+          "/Text"
+        ]
+      },
+      "obj:6 0 R": {
+        "value": {
+          "/BaseFont": "/Helvetica",
+          "/Encoding": "/WinAnsiEncoding",
+          "/Subtype": "/Type1",
+          "/Type": "/Font"
+        }
+      }
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-missing-trailer.out b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-missing-trailer.out
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..817a8c05
--- /dev/null
+++ b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-missing-trailer.out
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+WARNING: qjson-missing-trailer.json: "qpdf.objects.trailer" was not seen
+qpdf: qjson-missing-trailer.json: errors found in JSON
diff --git a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-no-json-version.out b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-no-json-version.out
index b745bc85..13b76d41 100644
--- a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-no-json-version.out
+++ b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-no-json-version.out
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
-qpdf: qjson-no-json-version.json: "qpdf.jsonversion" was not seen
+WARNING: qjson-no-json-version.json: "qpdf.jsonversion" was not seen
+qpdf: qjson-no-json-version.json: errors found in JSON
diff --git a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-no-pdf-version.out b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-no-pdf-version.out
index cd752750..dc7df6d5 100644
--- a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-no-pdf-version.out
+++ b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-no-pdf-version.out
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
-qpdf: qjson-no-pdf-version.json: "qpdf.pdfversion" was not seen
+WARNING: qjson-no-pdf-version.json: "qpdf.pdfversion" was not seen
+qpdf: qjson-no-pdf-version.json: errors found in JSON
diff --git a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-no-qpdf-object.out b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-no-qpdf-object.out
index 765d1bc5..63099eba 100644
--- a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-no-qpdf-object.out
+++ b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-no-qpdf-object.out
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
-qpdf: qjson-no-qpdf-object.json: "qpdf" object was not seen
+WARNING: qjson-no-qpdf-object.json: "qpdf" object was not seen
+qpdf: qjson-no-qpdf-object.json: errors found in JSON
diff --git a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-obj-key-errors.json b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-obj-key-errors.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4b9beeb7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-obj-key-errors.json
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+{
+  "version": 2,
+  "parameters": {
+    "decodelevel": "none"
+  },
+  "qpdf": {
+    "jsonversion": 2,
+    "pdfversion": "1.3",
+    "maxobjectid": 6,
+    "objects": {
+      "obj:1 0 R": {
+        "value": {
+          "/Pages": "2 0 R",
+          "/Type": "/Catalog"
+        }
+      },
+      "obj:2 0 R": {
+        "value": {
+          "/Count": 1,
+          "/Kids": [
+            "3 0 R"
+          ],
+          "/Type": "/Pages"
+        },
+        "stream": {
+          "data": "QlQKICAvRjEgMjQgVGYKICA3MiA3MjAgVGQKICAoUG90YXRvKSBUagpFVAo=",
+          "dict": {}
+        }
+      },
+      "obj:3 0 R": {
+        "potato": {
+          "salad": "ignored-so-no-string-error",
+          "nested": [1, 2, {"x": "y"}]
+        }
+      },
+      "obj:4 0 R": {
+        "stream": {
+          "potato": "u:salad"
+        }
+      },
+      "obj:5 0 R": {
+        "stream": {
+          "dict": {"/A": "/B"},
+          "data": "QlQKICAvRjEgMjQgVGYKICA3MiA3MjAgVGQKICAoUG90YXRvKSBUagpFVAo=",
+          "datafile": "abc"
+        }
+      },
+      "obj:6 0 R": {
+        "value": {
+          "/BaseFont": "/Helvetica",
+          "/Encoding": "/WinAnsiEncoding",
+          "/Subtype": "/Type1",
+          "/Type": "/Font"
+        }
+      },
+      "trailer": {
+        "potato": {
+          "/Root": "1 0 R",
+          "/Size": 7
+        }
+      }
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-obj-key-errors.out b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-obj-key-errors.out
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0098bcee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-obj-key-errors.out
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+WARNING: qjson-obj-key-errors.json (obj:2 0 R, offset 302): object must have exactly one of "value" or "stream"
+WARNING: qjson-obj-key-errors.json (obj:3 0 R, offset 600): object must have exactly one of "value" or "stream"
+WARNING: qjson-obj-key-errors.json (obj:4 0 R, offset 768): "stream" is missing "dict"
+WARNING: qjson-obj-key-errors.json (obj:4 0 R, offset 768): "stream" must have exactly one of "data" or "datafile"
+WARNING: qjson-obj-key-errors.json (obj:5 0 R, offset 858): "stream" must have exactly one of "data" or "datafile"
+WARNING: qjson-obj-key-errors.json (trailer, offset 1236): "trailer" is missing "value"
+qpdf: qjson-obj-key-errors.json: errors found in JSON
diff --git a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-object-not-dict.out b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-object-not-dict.out
index 5ddeb7f2..daa99065 100644
--- a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-object-not-dict.out
+++ b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-object-not-dict.out
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
-qpdf: qjson-object-not-dict.json: offset 184: "obj:1 0 R" must be a dictionary
+WARNING: qjson-object-not-dict.json (offset 184): "obj:1 0 R" must be a dictionary
+qpdf: qjson-object-not-dict.json: errors found in JSON
diff --git a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-objects-not-dict.out b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-objects-not-dict.out
index 7504428c..16e19695 100644
--- a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-objects-not-dict.out
+++ b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-objects-not-dict.out
@@ -1 +1,3 @@
-qpdf: qjson-objects-not-dict.json: offset 77: "objects" must be a dictionary
+WARNING: qjson-objects-not-dict.json (offset 77): "objects" must be a dictionary
+WARNING: qjson-objects-not-dict.json: "qpdf.objects.trailer" was not seen
+qpdf: qjson-objects-not-dict.json: errors found in JSON
diff --git a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-stream-dict-not-dict.out b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-stream-dict-not-dict.out
index 0341766e..37a125ec 100644
--- a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-stream-dict-not-dict.out
+++ b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-stream-dict-not-dict.out
@@ -1 +1,5 @@
-qpdf: qjson-stream-dict-not-dict.json: offset 137: "stream.dict" must be a dictionary
+WARNING: qjson-stream-dict-not-dict.json (obj:1 0 R, offset 137): "stream.dict" must be a dictionary
+WARNING: qjson-stream-dict-not-dict.json (obj:1 0 R, offset 137): unrecognized string value
+WARNING: qjson-stream-dict-not-dict.json (obj:1 0 R, offset 117): "stream" must have exactly one of "data" or "datafile"
+WARNING: qjson-stream-dict-not-dict.json: "qpdf.objects.trailer" was not seen
+qpdf: qjson-stream-dict-not-dict.json: errors found in JSON
diff --git a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-stream-not-dict.out b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-stream-not-dict.out
index e1f85a29..f6213ea4 100644
--- a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-stream-not-dict.out
+++ b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-stream-not-dict.out
@@ -1 +1,3 @@
-qpdf: qjson-stream-not-dict.json: offset 118: "stream" must be a dictionary
+WARNING: qjson-stream-not-dict.json (obj:1 0 R, offset 118): "stream" must be a dictionary
+WARNING: qjson-stream-not-dict.json: "qpdf.objects.trailer" was not seen
+qpdf: qjson-stream-not-dict.json: errors found in JSON
diff --git a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-trailer-not-dict.json b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-trailer-not-dict.json
index 69782074..32a5efab 100644
--- a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-trailer-not-dict.json
+++ b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-trailer-not-dict.json
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@
         }
       },
       "trailer": {
-        "value": false,
+        "value": false
       }
     }
   }
diff --git a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-trailer-not-dict.out b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-trailer-not-dict.out
index bec6c7ca..fcdf1e9b 100644
--- a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-trailer-not-dict.out
+++ b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-trailer-not-dict.out
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
-qpdf: qjson-trailer-not-dict.json: offset 1326: "trailer.value" must be a dictionary
+WARNING: qjson-trailer-not-dict.json (trailer, offset 1327): "trailer.value" must be a dictionary
+qpdf: qjson-trailer-not-dict.json: errors found in JSON
diff --git a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-trailer-stream.json b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-trailer-stream.json
index 74891e5b..0ec21248 100644
--- a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-trailer-stream.json
+++ b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-trailer-stream.json
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@
         }
       },
       "trailer": {
-        "stream": {},
+        "stream": {}
       }
     }
   }
diff --git a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-trailer-stream.out b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-trailer-stream.out
index 267ecf08..8ab18888 100644
--- a/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-trailer-stream.out
+++ b/qpdf/qtest/qpdf/qjson-trailer-stream.out
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
-qpdf: qjson-trailer-stream.json: offset 1327: the trailer may not be a stream
+WARNING: qjson-trailer-stream.json (trailer, offset 1327): the trailer may not be a stream
+qpdf: qjson-trailer-stream.json: errors found in JSON