JSON Formatter

Format, validate, and minify JSON data

Input JSON

Output

How to Use

Paste your raw JSON into the input box (it can be minified, partially formatted, or messy).
Click Format / Beautify to get properly indented, readable JSON.
Or click Minify to compress it into a single line — ideal for production use or API requests.
Validation errors (if any) are shown in red with the exact line.
Click Copy to copy the result to clipboard.

What is JSON?

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is the universal data exchange format for web APIs, configuration files, and databases. It is human-readable, language-agnostic, and supported natively in every modern programming language. Almost every REST API — from payment gateways to social media — sends and receives JSON.

Common Use Cases

API debugging: Copy the response from Postman or browser DevTools and format it for easy reading.
Config files: Format package.json, appsettings.json, tsconfig.json for readability.
Data pipelines: Validate JSON before ingesting into databases or message queues.
Log analysis: Many logging systems output minified JSON — format it for quick diagnosis.

JSON Syntax Rules

Keys must be double-quoted strings: "name" not name.
Values can be: string, number, boolean, null, array, or object.
No trailing commas allowed (unlike JavaScript objects).
No comments — use a JSON5 parser if you need comments in config files.

Frequently Asked Questions

The validator catches: missing commas between elements, unclosed brackets/braces, trailing commas (not allowed in JSON), unquoted keys, single-quoted strings instead of double-quoted, and control characters in strings. It also flags if the input is empty or not JSON at all.

No — JSON formatting and validation happens entirely in your browser using JavaScript's native JSON.parse() and JSON.stringify(). Your data never leaves your device. This makes it safe to use with sensitive API responses.

JSON5 is a superset of JSON that allows: comments (//, /* */), trailing commas, single-quoted strings, and unquoted keys. JSON5 is used in some config files (e.g., VSCode's settings.json). Standard JSON parsers will reject JSON5 — use a dedicated JSON5 parser for those files.