About JSON Formatter

JSON Formatter is a free browser-based tool for prettifying, validating, and minifying JSON. Paste any JSON — one long line, messy indentation, or a suspiciously-broken payload — and get a clean, structured result in one click.

Whether you're debugging an API response, cleaning up a config file, checking a webhook payload, or preparing JSON for a Git diff, our formatter turns raw data into something you can actually read (and read errors from) with pinpoint accuracy.

Runs entirely in your browser via JSON.parse and JSON.stringify. Nothing gets uploaded, and everything works offline once the page has loaded.

100% client-side: No data is uploaded. All formatting, validation, and minification happens in your browser — perfect for sensitive payloads like API tokens, PII, or internal configs.

How to use JSON Formatter

Get clean, valid JSON in three steps:

Paste JSON

Drop your JSON into the input panel. Load Sample if you want to try it first.

Choose action

Click Format to prettify, Minify to strip whitespace, or Validate to check syntax without changing anything.

Copy or Download

Grab the result via Copy button (clipboard) or Download button (.json file).

Key Features

Format with configurable indent

Choose 2 spaces, 4 spaces, or tabs. Optionally sort keys alphabetically for stable diffs across environments.

Minify with byte-savings report

Strip every unneeded whitespace character. Status bar reports exact bytes saved and the percent reduction.

Validate with line + column errors

If your JSON is invalid, we highlight exactly where — line and column numbers plus the parser's error message, so you can fix it fast.

Syntax coloring in the output

Keys purple, strings green, numbers red, booleans and null blue — matches the standard developer palette everyone knows.

Live character count

See input length update as you type. Handy when you're bumping against a payload size limit (webhook bodies, URL params, etc.).

Sort keys alphabetically

Optional toggle sorts every object's keys (recursively) into A-Z order — great for making config files diff-clean between commits.

Keyboard shortcuts

Ctrl+Enter (or Cmd+Enter) formats. Ctrl+M minifies. Tab key inserts 2 spaces inside the input.

Copy + Download

Copy sends the result to your clipboard with a toast. Download saves the result as formatted.json.

Common Use Cases

Prettify a minified API response so you can actually read it
Validate a webhook payload before shipping the code that consumes it
Debug JSON parse errors with exact line + column pointers
Minify JSON for storage in an environment variable or query string
Sort object keys before committing a config file for stable Git diffs
Clean up JSON copied from browser DevTools' Network panel
Verify a Postman / Insomnia body before hitting Send
Prepare compact JSON for embedding in a URL or JWT payload

Security & Privacy

JSON payloads often carry sensitive data — API keys, PII, internal identifiers. Here's how we keep them safe:

100% client-side: parsing and formatting run in your browser via JSON.parse / JSON.stringify. Nothing hits our servers.
Works offline: once loaded, disconnect and it still works. No network calls involved.
No logging of content: we don't see, log, or store your JSON. There's nothing to store.
No accounts needed: fully anonymous. Use it as often as you want, no signup.
Open standards only: we use browser-native APIs — no third-party JSON library needed and no tracked network requests.

{} JSON Formatter