JSON Formatter & Validator
Beautify, minify, and validate JSON — with clear error messages when something's wrong.
How to Format and Validate JSON
- Paste your JSON into the input box.
- Choose an indent size — 2 spaces, 4 spaces, or a tab — from the dropdown.
- Click "Format / Beautify" to pretty-print it, or "Minify" to collapse it onto a single line.
- Copy the result with "Copy Result", or click "Clear" to start over with new input.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the formatter find the exact error location?
It runs your text through the browser's native JSON.parse; when parsing fails, the tool extracts the character position from the resulting error message and counts newlines up to that point to report the specific line and column, instead of leaving you to decode a raw "unexpected token" message.
What's the difference between Format and Minify?
Format/Beautify re-serializes your JSON with the indentation you chose — 2 spaces, 4 spaces, or a tab. Minify re-serializes it with no whitespace at all, which is useful for shrinking a payload before sending it over a network.
Does it validate JSON strictly?
Yes — it uses the browser's built-in JSON.parse, the same strict parser your own JavaScript code would use, so anything that fails here (trailing commas, unquoted keys, single-quoted strings, comments) would also fail if you tried to parse it in real code.
Can it automatically fix invalid JSON?
No — it only reports where the syntax breaks. You still need to edit the reported line and column yourself before Format or Minify will succeed.
Is my JSON uploaded anywhere?
No — parsing, formatting, and minifying all happen locally using your browser's own JSON engine, so nothing you paste ever leaves your device.