JSON Formatter

Paste raw or minified JSON below and format it into clean, readable, properly indented output. Choose your indentation style, then copy the result with one click.

json-formatter · runs locally

What this JSON formatter does

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is the standard data format for web APIs, configuration files and log output — but servers almost always deliver it minified: a single unbroken line with every space stripped out. That is efficient for machines and unreadable for humans. This free JSON formatter takes that wall of text and pretty-prints it with consistent indentation and one property per line, so you can actually see the structure of the data.

Under the hood the tool uses the browser’s native JSON.parse() to read your input and JSON.stringify() to re-emit it with the indentation you choose. Because parsing happens first, formatting doubles as a validity check: if your document has a syntax error, you get the parser’s error message instead of silently broken output.

How to format JSON online

  1. Paste your raw or minified JSON into the input box.
  2. Pick an indentation style — 2 spaces, 4 spaces, or tabs.
  3. Click Format JSON.
  4. Copy the beautified result with the Copy result button.

Common uses

Developers use a JSON beautifier when inspecting API responses from tools like curl or Postman, reading webhook payloads, debugging package.json or other config files, and preparing JSON examples for documentation. If you need the opposite — stripping whitespace to make a payload smaller — use the companion JSON Minifier instead.

Frequently asked questions

Is this JSON formatter safe for sensitive data?

Yes. The formatter runs entirely in your browser using JavaScript's built-in JSON.parse and JSON.stringify. The JSON you paste is never uploaded, logged or stored on any server, so it is safe for API responses, configuration files and other private data.

What indentation should I use for JSON?

Two spaces is the most common convention and matches the default of tools like Prettier and most style guides. Four spaces is easier to scan in deeply nested documents, and tabs let each developer set their own visual width. All three produce identical, valid JSON.

Why does the formatter say my JSON is invalid?

The most common causes are trailing commas, single quotes instead of double quotes, unquoted property names, and comments — none of which are allowed in strict JSON. The error message shows what the parser hit first, which usually points directly at the problem.

Does formatting change my JSON data?

No. Formatting only changes whitespace between tokens. Keys, values, ordering of array elements and the structure of the document remain exactly the same, so the formatted output is semantically identical to the input.

JSON Validator

Check JSON syntax and get the exact line and column of any error.

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JSON Minifier

Compress JSON by removing whitespace. See exactly how many bytes you save.

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JSON Sorter

Sort all object keys alphabetically for stable, diff-friendly JSON.

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