JSON Formatter
Paste any JSON to format it with indentation, minify it to a single line, or validate it. Errors are highlighted with line numbers.
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Built for fast, private, no-nonsense work.
JSON Formatter is part of PixHaul — a small set of browser-based tools we built because most of the “free online” alternatives are slow, ad-laden, and upload your files before they’ll process them. PixHaul does none of that.
JSON Formatter in four steps.
- 1
Paste your JSON
Drop any JSON into the input panel. Even invalid JSON — we’ll tell you exactly what’s wrong.
- 2
Pick an indent
2 spaces is the default and matches most linters. 4 spaces is common in Python configs. Min produces the smallest possible single-line JSON.
- 3
Format or minify
Format pretty-prints with your chosen indent. Minify strips all whitespace to one compact line, useful for embedding in JSON-in-string contexts.
- 4
Copy or download
Copy puts it on your clipboard. Download saves a data.json file. The Valid JSON badge confirms it parses.
Questions, asked & answered.
Why won’t my JSON validate?
The most common causes are: trailing commas (not allowed in strict JSON), single quotes instead of double quotes, unquoted property names, and curly quotes pasted from a Word document. The error message includes a line and column to help you find it.
Is my data uploaded anywhere?
No. Formatting and parsing both happen in your browser using the built-in JSON.parse and JSON.stringify functions. Your data never leaves your device.
Can it handle very large JSON files?
Yes — within your device’s memory. Files of several megabytes are usually no problem. Hundreds of megabytes may slow the browser depending on your machine.
What’s the difference between format and beautify?
They mean the same thing. PixHaul calls it Format. Some tools call it Beautify or Pretty-Print. All three apply consistent indentation and line breaks to make the JSON readable.
Can it sort keys alphabetically?
Not currently — keys are preserved in their original order. Alphabetical sort is on the roadmap.
Does it support JSON5 or JSONC (JSON with comments)?
Not in strict mode — those are non-standard extensions. We follow the official JSON spec exactly, which is what most APIs require.
Why does the minified version look different from a website API response?
Minified JSON has no whitespace at all but is functionally identical. Servers often add no whitespace either, so what you’re seeing is the same canonical form.