Why hand-written fixtures rot
Early on the API 404s or the shape changes daily. Two objects are fine. Pagination, nested addresses, and ten status enums turn fixtures into a second codebase.
A mock generator is for “ship the UI shape first.” You’re not modeling the whole business. You’re unblocking screens, empty states, and spinners.
Generate, inspect, paste
In Mock Data, mirror your contract: ids, names, phones, nested items[]. Run the result through JSON Formatter and check you didn’t accidentally stringify everything.
Paste into MSW, a mock module, or Storybook. Need a spreadsheet view? JSON↔CSV to eyeball columns, then back to JSON for the client.
Mocks aren’t the contract
When the real API lands, JSON Diff the mock against a live sample. Renames, nullability, array-vs-object — better now than the night before QA.
Generation stays in the browser. Don’t put real PII in fixtures. Use obviously fake phones and emails so nobody mistakes them for production.