JSON Beautifier

JSON Beautifier turns minified or messy JSON into neatly indented, readable text, checks that it is valid, and tells you exactly where it is broken and how to fix it. It can also sort keys and minify JSON back into one line. Everything runs in your browser, so API responses, tokens and configuration files are never uploaded.

How to use the JSON Beautifier

1. Paste your JSON into the box. It is checked and formatted as you type.
2. Choose the indentation: 2, 4 or 8 spaces, or tabs.
3. Optionally sort keys A to Z, escape non-ASCII characters or escape forward slashes.
4. Click Beautify JSON, Minify or Validate only, then Copy the result or Download .json.

When the JSON is invalid

You see the line and column where parsing stopped, and a hint for the most common mistakes:

• Trailing comma: {"a": 1,}. JSON does not allow a comma before a closing bracket.
• Single quotes: {'a': 1}. Strings and keys need double quotes.
• Unquoted keys: {a: 1}. Fine in JavaScript, invalid in JSON.
• Comments: // note or /* note */ are not part of JSON.
• Special values: undefined, NaN and Infinity do not exist in JSON; use null or a number.

Options explained

• Sort object keys: orders keys alphabetically at every level, which makes two JSON documents easy to compare with the Diff Checker. Arrays keep their order, because order matters in arrays.
• Escape non-ASCII characters: writes é as é, for systems that only accept plain ASCII.
• Escape forward slashes: writes / as /, matching the output of PHP's json_encode.
• Minify: removes all whitespace, for the smallest file to send over the network.

Formatting never changes your data: empty objects stay {}, empty arrays stay [], and numbers and strings are kept as they are.

When it comes in handy

• Reading API responses and webhook payloads while debugging.
• Finding the one missing comma in a large configuration file.
• Sorting keys so two JSON documents are easier to compare.
• Minifying JSON before embedding it in code or sending it.

Frequently asked questions