JSON Beautifier

About this tool

Beautifying JSON is the reverse of minifying it: the tool re-inserts the whitespace that machines strip out, giving each key, value and array element its own line at a consistent depth. The data is untouched — only its presentation changes.

Because the input is fully parsed before it is re-printed, a beautified document is guaranteed to be valid JSON. If the input cannot be parsed you get the exact line and column of the problem instead of silent, half-formatted output.

Indentation width is a readability decision, not a correctness one. Two spaces keeps deeply nested API responses from marching off the right edge of the screen; four spaces suits shallow configuration files where the extra separation helps; a tab defers the choice to whatever width each reader has configured in their editor. All three produce identical data.

For very large payloads, beautifying multiplies the byte count — every level of nesting adds leading whitespace to every line. That is fine for reading, but keep the minified form for storage and transport, and treat the expanded version as a view rather than the artefact you commit.

How to use this tool

1. Paste compact JSON, or drop a .json file onto the input panel.
2. Choose how deep each level should indent: 2 spaces, 4 spaces or a tab.
3. Turn on key sorting if you want a stable, alphabetised layout.
4. Press Beautify, then copy the result or download it as a .json file.

Key features

• ✓Indent with 2 spaces, 4 spaces or tabs
• ✓Optional recursive key sorting for predictable output
• ✓Optional \uXXXX escaping for pure-ASCII output
• ✓LF or CRLF line endings for the generated file
• ✓Big Number mode keeps very large integers exact
• ✓Parse errors reported with line, column and a likely cause
• ✓Copy to clipboard or download as .json
• ✓Works offline once the page has loaded

Example

{"id":1,"tags":["a","b"],"ok":true}

{
  "id": 1,
  "tags": [
    "a",
    "b"
  ],
  "ok": true
}

Good to know

• The input must be valid JSON. To fix broken input first, use the JSON Repair tool.
• Integers beyond 2^53-1 are rounded by default; switch on Big Number mode to keep them exact, which in turn skips key sorting.

Frequently asked questions