JSON Formatter — Beautify, Validate & Minify Online Free
Format, validate and minify JSON online free — no sign-up, no uploads. Paste your JSON to instantly beautify it, check for errors and minify for production. Runs entirely in your browser.
Last updated: June 2026
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Input
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Output
About this tool
How to format and validate JSON online
JSON is everywhere — API responses, configuration files, log lines — and it's almost always delivered minified onto one line, which is impossible to read. A JSON formatter fixes that instantly: paste the raw text above and click Format to get a clean, indented, syntax-highlighted structure you can actually scan. Keys, strings, numbers, booleans and nulls are each colour-coded so the shape of the data is obvious at a glance.
The same tool is a strict JSON validator. If your JSON has a problem — a trailing comma, an unquoted key, a missing brace — clicking Format or Validate shows the parser's exact error and the line and column to look at, so you fix it in seconds instead of hunting. When you need the opposite, Minify strips all whitespace back out to produce the smallest valid payload for sending over the wire.
You can choose two-space, four-space or tab indentation, sort every object's keys alphabetically
for clean diffs, and turn on auto-format so pasted JSON is beautified the moment it lands. Copy
the result with one click or download it as a .json file. Everything happens in your
browser using the native JSON engine, so even sensitive data never leaves your device — and there's
no account, no limit, and no cost.
How it works
Three quick steps — no account, nothing uploaded to a server.
Enter your input
Paste or type your data into the tool.
Format & validate
Format, validate or minify your JSON in one click.
Copy or download
Copy the result to your clipboard or download it as a file.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is this JSON formatter free and private?
Yes — it's completely free, with no account, no limits and no watermark. Just as importantly, it's private: the JSON you paste is parsed and formatted entirely in your browser using the built-in JSON engine. Nothing is uploaded to a server, so you can safely beautify configuration files, API responses or data that contains private information.
What's the difference between Format and Minify?
Format (beautify) re-indents your JSON with line breaks and spaces so it's easy to read and debug — you choose two spaces, four spaces or tabs. Minify does the opposite: it strips every unnecessary character to produce the smallest valid JSON on a single line, which is ideal for sending over the network or embedding in code. Both keep the data identical; only the whitespace changes.
How does the validator show errors?
When the JSON can't be parsed, the tool shows the parser's error message along with the exact line and column where the problem is, so you can quickly spot a trailing comma, an unquoted key, a missing bracket or a stray character. Fix the highlighted spot and format again. The Validate button also confirms with a green 'Valid JSON' message when everything is correct.
Can I sort the keys in my JSON?
Yes. Turn on 'Sort keys alphabetically' and the formatter recursively orders every object's keys A–Z, at every level of nesting, which makes diffing two JSON files much easier and gives you a consistent canonical form. Array order is preserved, since arrays are ordered by definition.
Does it work with large JSON files?
It handles large documents well because everything runs locally with no upload step. Extremely large files (tens of megabytes) depend on your device's memory and the browser's JSON parser, but typical API responses and config files format instantly. Your draft is also remembered locally so it's still there if you reload.
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