diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 70293ebba..8e5a50fce 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -98,6 +98,10 @@ elseif (MLX_BUILD_METAL)
     ${QUARTZ_LIB})
 endif()
 
+MESSAGE(STATUS "Downloading json")
+find_package(nlohmann_json 3.11.3 REQUIRED)
+target_link_libraries(mlx nlohmann_json::nlohmann_json)
+
 find_library(ACCELERATE_LIBRARY Accelerate)
 if (MLX_BUILD_ARM AND ACCELERATE_LIBRARY)
   message(STATUS "Accelerate found ${ACCELERATE_LIBRARY}")
@@ -152,6 +156,8 @@ if (MLX_BUILD_BENCHMARKS)
   add_subdirectory(${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}/benchmarks/cpp)
 endif()
 
+
+
 # ----------------------------- Installation -----------------------------
 include(GNUInstallDirs)
 
diff --git a/mlx/safetensor.cpp b/mlx/safetensor.cpp
index 30f5d2b5a..1ec3f2964 100644
--- a/mlx/safetensor.cpp
+++ b/mlx/safetensor.cpp
@@ -4,200 +4,6 @@
 
 namespace mlx::core {
 
-namespace io {
-Token Tokenizer::getToken() {
-  if (!this->hasMoreTokens()) {
-    return Token{TOKEN::NULL_TYPE};
-  }
-  char nextChar = this->_data[this->_loc];
-  while ((nextChar == ' ' || nextChar == '\n') && this->hasMoreTokens()) {
-    nextChar = this->_data[++this->_loc];
-  }
-  if (!this->hasMoreTokens()) {
-    return Token{TOKEN::NULL_TYPE};
-  }
-  // loc is not that important here, but need to increment location
-  // so might as well do it all in one line
-  switch (nextChar) {
-    case '{':
-      return Token{TOKEN::CURLY_OPEN, ++this->_loc};
-    case '}':
-      return Token{TOKEN::CURLY_CLOSE, ++this->_loc};
-    case ':':
-      return Token{TOKEN::COLON, ++this->_loc};
-    case '[':
-      return Token{TOKEN::ARRAY_OPEN, ++this->_loc};
-    case ']':
-      return Token{TOKEN::ARRAY_CLOSE, ++this->_loc};
-    case ',':
-      return Token{TOKEN::COMMA, ++this->_loc};
-    case '"': {
-      size_t start = ++this->_loc;
-      while (_data[++this->_loc] != '"' && this->hasMoreTokens())
-        ;
-      if (!this->hasMoreTokens()) {
-        throw std::runtime_error("no more chars to parse");
-      }
-      return Token{TOKEN::STRING, start, ++this->_loc};
-    }
-    default: {
-      size_t start = this->_loc;
-      while ((nextChar != ',' && nextChar != '}' && nextChar != ']' &&
-              nextChar != ' ' && nextChar != '\n') &&
-             this->hasMoreTokens()) {
-        nextChar = this->_data[++this->_loc];
-      }
-      if (!this->hasMoreTokens()) {
-        throw std::runtime_error("no more chars to parse");
-      }
-      return Token{TOKEN::NUMBER, start, this->_loc};
-    }
-  }
-}
-
-JSONNode jsonDeserialize(const char* data, size_t len) {
-  auto tokenizer = Tokenizer(data, len);
-  std::stack<JSONNode*> ctx;
-  while (tokenizer.hasMoreTokens()) {
-    auto token = tokenizer.getToken();
-    switch (token.type) {
-      case TOKEN::CURLY_OPEN:
-        ctx.push(new JSONNode(JSONNode::Type::OBJECT));
-        break;
-      case TOKEN::ARRAY_OPEN:
-        ctx.push(new JSONNode(JSONNode::Type::LIST));
-        break;
-      case TOKEN::CURLY_CLOSE:
-        if (ctx.top()->is_type(JSONNode::Type::OBJECT)) {
-          auto obj = ctx.top();
-          ctx.pop();
-          // top-level object
-          if (ctx.size() == 0) {
-            return *obj;
-          }
-
-          if (ctx.top()->is_type(JSONNode::Type::STRING)) {
-            auto key = ctx.top();
-            ctx.pop();
-            if (ctx.top()->is_type(JSONNode::Type::OBJECT)) {
-              ctx.top()->getObject()->insert({key->getString(), obj});
-            } else {
-              throw std::runtime_error("invalid json");
-            }
-          } else if (ctx.top()->is_type(JSONNode::Type::LIST)) {
-            ctx.top()->getList()->push_back(obj);
-          }
-        }
-        break;
-      case TOKEN::ARRAY_CLOSE:
-        if (ctx.top()->is_type(JSONNode::Type::LIST)) {
-          auto obj = ctx.top();
-          ctx.pop();
-          if (ctx.size() == 0) {
-            return *obj;
-          }
-          if (ctx.top()->is_type(JSONNode::Type::STRING)) {
-            auto key = ctx.top();
-            ctx.pop();
-            if (ctx.top()->is_type(JSONNode::Type::OBJECT)) {
-              ctx.top()->getObject()->insert({key->getString(), obj});
-            } else {
-              throw std::runtime_error(
-                  "invalid json, string/array key pair did not have object parent");
-            }
-          } else if (ctx.top()->is_type(JSONNode::Type::LIST)) {
-            if (ctx.top()->is_type(JSONNode::Type::LIST)) {
-              ctx.top()->getList()->push_back(obj);
-            }
-          }
-        } else {
-          throw std::runtime_error(
-              "invalid json, could not find array to close");
-        }
-        break;
-      case TOKEN::STRING: {
-        auto str =
-            new std::string(data + token.start, token.end - token.start - 1);
-        if (ctx.top()->is_type(JSONNode::Type::LIST)) {
-          ctx.top()->getList()->push_back(new JSONNode(str));
-        } else if (ctx.top()->is_type(JSONNode::Type::OBJECT)) {
-          ctx.push(new JSONNode(str));
-        } else if (ctx.top()->is_type(JSONNode::Type::STRING)) {
-          auto key = ctx.top();
-          ctx.pop();
-          if (ctx.top()->is_type(JSONNode::Type::OBJECT)) {
-            ctx.top()->getObject()->insert(
-                {key->getString(), new JSONNode(str)});
-          } else {
-            throw std::runtime_error("invalid json");
-          }
-        }
-        break;
-      }
-      case TOKEN::NUMBER: {
-        // TODO: is there an easier way of doing this.
-        auto str = new std::string(data + token.start, token.end - token.start);
-        auto val = strtoul(str->c_str(), nullptr, 10);
-        if (ctx.top()->is_type(JSONNode::Type::LIST)) {
-          ctx.top()->getList()->push_back(new JSONNode(val));
-        } else if (ctx.top()->is_type(JSONNode::Type::STRING)) {
-          auto key = ctx.top();
-          ctx.pop();
-          if (ctx.top()->is_type(JSONNode::Type::OBJECT)) {
-            ctx.top()->getObject()->insert(
-                {key->getString(), new JSONNode(val)});
-          } else {
-            throw std::runtime_error("invalid json");
-          }
-        }
-        break;
-      }
-      default:
-        break;
-    }
-  }
-  throw std::runtime_error(
-      "[jsonDeserialize] json was invalid and could not be parsed");
-}
-
-std::string jsonSerialize(JSONNode* node) {
-  std::string res;
-  if (node->is_type(JSONNode::Type::STRING)) {
-    return "\"" + node->getString() + "\"";
-  }
-  if (node->is_type(JSONNode::Type::NUMBER)) {
-    return std::to_string(node->getNumber());
-  }
-  if (node->is_type(JSONNode::Type::LIST)) {
-    res += "[";
-    for (auto& item : *node->getList()) {
-      res += jsonSerialize(item);
-      res += ",";
-    }
-    if (res.back() == ',') {
-      res.pop_back();
-    }
-    res += "]";
-    return res;
-  }
-  if (node->is_type(JSONNode::Type::OBJECT)) {
-    res += "{";
-    for (auto& [key, item] : *node->getObject()) {
-      res += "\"" + key + "\":";
-      res += jsonSerialize(item);
-      res += ",";
-    }
-    if (res.back() == ',') {
-      res.pop_back();
-    }
-    res += "}";
-    return res;
-  }
-
-  throw std::runtime_error("[jsonSerialize] invalid json node");
-}
-
-} // namespace io
 std::string dtype_to_safetensor_str(Dtype t) {
   if (t == float32) {
     return ST_F32;
@@ -276,44 +82,34 @@ std::unordered_map<std::string, array> load_safetensor(
         "[load_safetensor] Invalid json header length " + in_stream->label());
   }
   // Load the json metadata
-  char json[jsonHeaderLength];
-  in_stream->read(json, jsonHeaderLength);
-  auto metadata = io::jsonDeserialize(json, jsonHeaderLength);
+  char rawJson[jsonHeaderLength];
+  in_stream->read(rawJson, jsonHeaderLength);
+  auto metadata = json::parse(rawJson, rawJson + jsonHeaderLength);
+  // auto metadata = io::jsonDeserialize(json, jsonHeaderLength);
   // Should always be an object on the top-level
-  if (!metadata.is_type(io::JSONNode::Type::OBJECT)) {
+  if (!metadata.is_object()) {
     throw std::runtime_error(
         "[load_safetensor] Invalid json metadata " + in_stream->label());
   }
   size_t offset = jsonHeaderLength + 8;
   // Load the arrays using metadata
   std::unordered_map<std::string, array> res;
-  for (auto& [key, obj] : *metadata.getObject()) {
-    if (key == "__metadata__") {
+  for (const auto& item : metadata.items()) {
+    if (item.key() == "__metadata__") {
       // ignore metadata for now
       continue;
     }
-    std::string dtype = obj->getObject()->at("dtype")->getString();
-    auto shape = obj->getObject()->at("shape")->getList();
-    std::vector<int> shape_vec;
-    for (const auto& dim : *shape) {
-      shape_vec.push_back(dim->getNumber());
-    }
-    auto data_offsets = obj->getObject()->at("data_offsets")->getList();
-    std::vector<int64_t> data_offsets_vec;
-    for (const auto& offset : *data_offsets) {
-      data_offsets_vec.push_back(offset->getNumber());
-    }
+    std::string dtype = item.value().at("dtype");
+    std::vector<int> shape = item.value().at("shape");
+    std::vector<size_t> data_offsets = item.value().at("data_offsets");
     Dtype type = dtype_from_safetensor_str(dtype);
     auto loaded_array = array(
-        shape_vec,
+        shape,
         type,
         std::make_unique<Load>(
-            to_stream(s),
-            in_stream,
-            offset + data_offsets->at(0)->getNumber(),
-            false),
+            to_stream(s), in_stream, offset + data_offsets.at(0), false),
         std::vector<array>{});
-    res.insert({key, loaded_array});
+    res.insert({item.key(), loaded_array});
   }
   return res;
 }
@@ -330,8 +126,8 @@ void save_safetensor(
     std::unordered_map<std::string, array> a) {
   ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
   // Check array map
+  json parent;
 
-  io::JSONNode metadata(io::JSONNode::Type::OBJECT);
   size_t offset = 0;
   for (auto& [key, arr] : a) {
     arr.eval(false);
@@ -345,29 +141,12 @@ void save_safetensor(
           "[save_safetensor] cannot serialize a non-contiguous array key: " +
           key);
     }
-    auto obj = new io::JSONNode(io::JSONNode::Type::OBJECT);
+    json child;
     // TODO: dont make a new string
-    obj->getObject()->insert(
-        {"dtype",
-         new io::JSONNode(
-             new std::string(dtype_to_safetensor_str(arr.dtype())))});
-    obj->getObject()->insert(
-        {"shape", new io::JSONNode(io::JSONNode::Type::LIST)});
-    for (auto& dim : arr.shape()) {
-      obj->getObject()->at("shape")->getList()->push_back(
-          new io::JSONNode(dim));
-    }
-    obj->getObject()->insert(
-        {"data_offsets", new io::JSONNode(io::JSONNode::Type::LIST)});
-    obj->getObject()
-        ->at("data_offsets")
-        ->getList()
-        ->push_back(new io::JSONNode(offset));
-    obj->getObject()
-        ->at("data_offsets")
-        ->getList()
-        ->push_back(new io::JSONNode(offset + arr.nbytes()));
-    metadata.getObject()->insert({key, obj});
+    child["dtype"] = dtype_to_safetensor_str(arr.dtype());
+    child["shape"] = arr.shape();
+    child["data_offsets"] = std::vector<size_t>{offset, offset + arr.nbytes()};
+    parent[key] = child;
     offset += arr.nbytes();
   }
 
@@ -378,7 +157,7 @@ void save_safetensor(
         "[save_safetensor] Failed to open " + out_stream->label());
   }
 
-  auto header = io::jsonSerialize(&metadata);
+  auto header = parent.dump();
   uint64_t header_len = header.length();
   out_stream->write(reinterpret_cast<char*>(&header_len), 8);
   out_stream->write(header.c_str(), header_len);
@@ -393,7 +172,7 @@ void save_safetensor(
   // Open and check file
   std::string file = file_;
 
-  // Add .npy to file name if it is not there
+  // Add .safetensors to file name if it is not there
   if (file.length() < 12 ||
       file.substr(file.length() - 12, 12) != ".safetensors")
     file += ".safetensors";
diff --git a/mlx/safetensor.h b/mlx/safetensor.h
index 2e2b9c9c1..022c88913 100644
--- a/mlx/safetensor.h
+++ b/mlx/safetensor.h
@@ -2,11 +2,15 @@
 
 #pragma once
 
+#include <nlohmann/json.hpp>
+
 #include "mlx/load.h"
 #include "mlx/ops.h"
 #include "mlx/primitives.h"
 #include "mlx/utils.h"
 
+using json = nlohmann::json;
+
 namespace mlx::core {
 
 #define ST_F16 "F16"
@@ -22,116 +26,4 @@ namespace mlx::core {
 #define ST_U16 "U16"
 #define ST_U32 "U32"
 #define ST_U64 "U64"
-
-namespace io {
-// NOTE: This json parser is a bare minimum implementation for safetensors,
-// it does not support all of json features, and does not have alot of edge case
-// catches. This is okay as safe tensor json is very simple and we can assume it
-// is always valid and well formed, but this should not be used for general json
-// parsing
-class JSONNode;
-using JSONObject = std::unordered_map<std::string, JSONNode*>;
-using JSONList = std::vector<JSONNode*>;
-
-class JSONNode {
- public:
-  enum class Type { OBJECT, LIST, STRING, NUMBER, NULL_TYPE };
-
-  JSONNode() : _type(Type::NULL_TYPE){};
-  JSONNode(Type type) : _type(type) {
-    // set the default value
-    if (type == Type::OBJECT) {
-      this->_values.object = new JSONObject();
-    } else if (type == Type::LIST) {
-      this->_values.list = new JSONList();
-    }
-  };
-  JSONNode(std::string* s) : _type(Type::STRING) {
-    this->_values.s = s;
-  };
-  JSONNode(float f) : _type(Type::NUMBER) {
-    this->_values.f = f;
-  };
-
-  JSONObject* getObject() {
-    if (!is_type(Type::OBJECT)) {
-      throw new std::runtime_error("not an object");
-    }
-    return this->_values.object;
-  }
-
-  JSONList* getList() {
-    if (!is_type(Type::LIST)) {
-      throw new std::runtime_error("not a list");
-    }
-    return this->_values.list;
-  }
-
-  std::string getString() {
-    if (!is_type(Type::STRING)) {
-      throw new std::runtime_error("not a string");
-    }
-    return *this->_values.s;
-  }
-
-  uint32_t getNumber() {
-    if (!is_type(Type::NUMBER)) {
-      throw new std::runtime_error("not a number");
-    }
-    return this->_values.f;
-  }
-
-  inline bool is_type(Type t) {
-    return this->_type == t;
-  }
-
-  inline Type type() const {
-    return this->_type;
-  }
-
- private:
-  union Values {
-    JSONObject* object;
-    JSONList* list;
-    std::string* s;
-    uint64_t f;
-  } _values;
-  Type _type;
-};
-
-JSONNode jsonDeserialize(const char* data, size_t len);
-std::string jsonSerialize(JSONNode* node);
-
-enum class TOKEN {
-  CURLY_OPEN,
-  CURLY_CLOSE,
-  COLON,
-  STRING,
-  NUMBER,
-  ARRAY_OPEN,
-  ARRAY_CLOSE,
-  COMMA,
-  NULL_TYPE,
-};
-
-struct Token {
-  TOKEN type;
-  size_t start;
-  size_t end;
-};
-
-class Tokenizer {
- public:
-  Tokenizer(const char* data, size_t len) : _data(data), _loc(0), _len(len){};
-  Token getToken();
-  inline bool hasMoreTokens() {
-    return this->_loc < this->_len;
-  };
-
- private:
-  const char* _data;
-  size_t _len;
-  size_t _loc;
-};
-} // namespace io
 } // namespace mlx::core
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/load_tests.cpp b/tests/load_tests.cpp
index 60e06d670..1245f50f5 100644
--- a/tests/load_tests.cpp
+++ b/tests/load_tests.cpp
@@ -14,152 +14,6 @@ std::string get_temp_file(const std::string& name) {
   return std::filesystem::temp_directory_path().append(name);
 }
 
-TEST_CASE("test tokenizer") {
-  auto raw = std::string(" { \"testing\": [1 , \"test\"]}   ");
-  auto tokenizer = io::Tokenizer(raw.c_str(), raw.size());
-  CHECK_EQ(tokenizer.getToken().type, io::TOKEN::CURLY_OPEN);
-  CHECK_EQ(tokenizer.getToken().type, io::TOKEN::STRING);
-  CHECK_EQ(tokenizer.getToken().type, io::TOKEN::COLON);
-  CHECK_EQ(tokenizer.getToken().type, io::TOKEN::ARRAY_OPEN);
-  CHECK_EQ(tokenizer.getToken().type, io::TOKEN::NUMBER);
-  CHECK_EQ(tokenizer.getToken().type, io::TOKEN::COMMA);
-  CHECK_EQ(tokenizer.getToken().type, io::TOKEN::STRING);
-  CHECK_EQ(tokenizer.getToken().type, io::TOKEN::ARRAY_CLOSE);
-  CHECK_EQ(tokenizer.getToken().type, io::TOKEN::CURLY_CLOSE);
-  CHECK_EQ(tokenizer.getToken().type, io::TOKEN::NULL_TYPE);
-
-  raw = std::string(" { \"testing\": \"test\"}   ");
-  tokenizer = io::Tokenizer(raw.c_str(), raw.size());
-  CHECK_EQ(tokenizer.getToken().type, io::TOKEN::CURLY_OPEN);
-  CHECK_EQ(tokenizer.getToken().type, io::TOKEN::STRING);
-  CHECK_EQ(tokenizer.getToken().type, io::TOKEN::COLON);
-  CHECK_EQ(tokenizer.getToken().type, io::TOKEN::STRING);
-  CHECK_EQ(tokenizer.getToken().type, io::TOKEN::CURLY_CLOSE);
-  CHECK_EQ(tokenizer.getToken().type, io::TOKEN::NULL_TYPE);
-}
-
-TEST_CASE("test jsonSerialize") {
-  auto test = new io::JSONNode(io::JSONNode::Type::OBJECT);
-  auto src = io::jsonSerialize(test);
-  CHECK_EQ(src, "{}");
-  test = new io::JSONNode(io::JSONNode::Type::LIST);
-  src = io::jsonSerialize(test);
-  CHECK_EQ(src, "[]");
-  test = new io::JSONNode(io::JSONNode::Type::OBJECT);
-  test->getObject()->insert(
-      {"test", new io::JSONNode(new std::string("testing"))});
-  src = io::jsonSerialize(test);
-  CHECK_EQ(src, "{\"test\":\"testing\"}");
-  test = new io::JSONNode(io::JSONNode::Type::OBJECT);
-  auto arr = new io::JSONNode(io::JSONNode::Type::LIST);
-  arr->getList()->push_back(new io::JSONNode(1));
-  arr->getList()->push_back(new io::JSONNode(2));
-  test->getObject()->insert({"test", arr});
-  src = io::jsonSerialize(test);
-  CHECK_EQ(src, "{\"test\":[1,2]}");
-}
-
-TEST_CASE("test jsonDeserialize") {
-  auto raw = std::string("{}");
-  auto res = io::jsonDeserialize(raw.c_str(), raw.size());
-  CHECK(res.is_type(io::JSONNode::Type::OBJECT));
-
-  raw = std::string("[]");
-  res = io::jsonDeserialize(raw.c_str(), raw.size());
-  CHECK(res.is_type(io::JSONNode::Type::LIST));
-
-  raw = std::string("[");
-  CHECK_THROWS_AS(
-      io::jsonDeserialize(raw.c_str(), raw.size()), std::runtime_error);
-
-  raw = std::string("[{}, \"test\"]");
-  res = io::jsonDeserialize(raw.c_str(), raw.size());
-  CHECK(res.is_type(io::JSONNode::Type::LIST));
-  CHECK_EQ(res.getList()->size(), 2);
-  CHECK(res.getList()->at(0)->is_type(io::JSONNode::Type::OBJECT));
-  CHECK(res.getList()->at(1)->is_type(io::JSONNode::Type::STRING));
-  CHECK_EQ(res.getList()->at(1)->getString(), "test");
-
-  raw = std::string(
-      "{\"test\":{\"dtype\":\"F32\",\"shape\":[4], \"data_offsets\":[0, 16]}}");
-  res = io::jsonDeserialize(raw.c_str(), raw.size());
-  CHECK(res.is_type(io::JSONNode::Type::OBJECT));
-  CHECK_EQ(res.getObject()->size(), 1);
-  CHECK(res.getObject()->at("test")->is_type(io::JSONNode::Type::OBJECT));
-  CHECK_EQ(res.getObject()->at("test")->getObject()->size(), 3);
-  CHECK(res.getObject()->at("test")->getObject()->at("dtype")->is_type(
-      io::JSONNode::Type::STRING));
-  CHECK_EQ(
-      res.getObject()->at("test")->getObject()->at("dtype")->getString(),
-      "F32");
-  CHECK(res.getObject()->at("test")->getObject()->at("shape")->is_type(
-      io::JSONNode::Type::LIST));
-  CHECK_EQ(
-      res.getObject()->at("test")->getObject()->at("shape")->getList()->size(),
-      1);
-  CHECK(res.getObject()
-            ->at("test")
-            ->getObject()
-            ->at("shape")
-            ->getList()
-            ->at(0)
-            ->is_type(io::JSONNode::Type::NUMBER));
-  CHECK_EQ(
-      res.getObject()
-          ->at("test")
-          ->getObject()
-          ->at("shape")
-          ->getList()
-          ->at(0)
-          ->getNumber(),
-      4);
-  CHECK(res.getObject()
-            ->at("test")
-            ->getObject()
-            ->at("data_offsets")
-            ->is_type(io::JSONNode::Type::LIST));
-  CHECK_EQ(
-      res.getObject()
-          ->at("test")
-          ->getObject()
-          ->at("data_offsets")
-          ->getList()
-          ->size(),
-      2);
-  CHECK(res.getObject()
-            ->at("test")
-            ->getObject()
-            ->at("data_offsets")
-            ->getList()
-            ->at(0)
-            ->is_type(io::JSONNode::Type::NUMBER));
-  CHECK_EQ(
-      res.getObject()
-          ->at("test")
-          ->getObject()
-          ->at("data_offsets")
-          ->getList()
-          ->at(0)
-          ->getNumber(),
-      0);
-  CHECK(res.getObject()
-            ->at("test")
-            ->getObject()
-            ->at("data_offsets")
-            ->getList()
-            ->at(1)
-            ->is_type(io::JSONNode::Type::NUMBER));
-  CHECK_EQ(
-      res.getObject()
-          ->at("test")
-          ->getObject()
-          ->at("data_offsets")
-          ->getList()
-          ->at(1)
-          ->getNumber(),
-      16);
-}
-
 TEST_CASE("test save_safetensor") {
   std::string file_path = get_temp_file("test_arr.safetensors");
   auto map = std::unordered_map<std::string, array>();