What is the difference between beautify and minify?

Beautify adds indentation and line breaks to make JSON human-readable. Minify removes all unnecessary whitespace to produce the smallest possible JSON string — useful for API responses and storage.

Can it detect the location of a syntax error?

Yes. When JSON is invalid, the tool displays the error message from the JSON parser which typically includes the line number and character position of the error.

What indentation options are available?

2-space, 4-space, and tab indentation are all supported. 2 spaces is the most common convention for JSON.

What causes "Unexpected token" errors in JSON?

Common causes: trailing commas after the last item in an object or array (not valid in JSON unlike JavaScript), single quotes instead of double quotes around strings, unescaped backslashes or newlines inside string values, or missing commas between properties.

How is JSON different from JavaScript object notation?

JSON requires double quotes for all keys and string values. It does not support trailing commas, comments, undefined values, or functions. JavaScript object notation is more permissive. JSON is a strict subset of JavaScript.

What indentation style is best for JSON config files?

2-space indentation is the most common for JSON — it balances readability with line length. 4-space is common in Java ecosystems. Tab indentation is not recommended for JSON files committed to version control as different editors render tabs differently.

JSON Formatter & Validator

The JSON Formatter beautifies minified JSON into a human-readable format with configurable indentation (2 or 4 spaces), and minifies formatted JSON for production use. The validator instantly flags syntax errors with the line and column position, making it easier to debug malformed JSON from APIs or configuration files.

Runs entirely in your browser — your input is never uploaded, stored, or logged.

Validate, format, and minify JSON in one tool. For converting data between formats, try the CSV to JSON converter or the YAML to JSON converter.

How to Use

1Paste your JSON into the input box.
2Click Format to beautify or Minify to compress.
3Check any validation errors shown inline.
4Copy the formatted output or download it as a .json file.

Common Uses

→Format and prettify API responses for readability
→Validate JSON syntax before using it in code
→Minify JSON to reduce payload size for production
→Debug broken JSON from logs or copied output
→Inspect deeply nested JSON structures

Examples

Beautify

Input

{"name":"Alice","scores":[95,87,92]}

Output

{
  "name": "Alice",
  "scores": [
    95,
    87,
    92
  ]
}

Frequently Asked Questions

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