Why Use a JSON Formatter?
JSON has become the universal data exchange format. APIs return it, config files use it, databases store it. But raw JSON from an API response or a minified file? It's nearly impossible to read. That's where a JSON formatter comes in.
We built this tool because we needed something fast, private, and feature-rich. Most online formatters either upload your data to servers (privacy concern) or lack advanced options. Our formatter runs entirely in your browser, keeping your sensitive API responses and configuration data local.
Key Features
- Prettify: Transform minified JSON into readable, indented format
- Minify: Compress JSON by removing whitespace for smaller file sizes
- Validate: Check JSON syntax and get detailed error locations
- Sort Keys: Alphabetically order object keys for consistency
- Custom Indentation: Choose between 1-8 spaces or tabs
- Unicode Escaping: Convert special characters to escape sequences
- Comment Removal: Strip comments from JSON-like files
Understanding JSON Validation
JSON has strict syntax rules. A single misplaced comma or missing quote can break your entire payload. Our validator doesn't just tell you "invalid JSON" – it shows you exactly where the error occurred with line and column numbers.
Common JSON errors we help you catch:
- Trailing commas after the last item in arrays or objects
- Single quotes instead of double quotes
- Unquoted property names
- Missing colons between keys and values
- Unescaped special characters in strings
When to Use Each Mode
Prettify Mode
Use prettify when you need to read or debug JSON. API responses, configuration files, database exports – they all become much easier to understand with proper formatting. Choose your preferred indentation style for consistency with your codebase.
Minify Mode
Minify is perfect for production use. When you're sending JSON over the network, every byte counts. A minified 100KB JSON file might become 60KB – that's 40% less data transfer. For high-traffic APIs, this adds up fast.
Validate Only
Sometimes you just need to know if your JSON is valid. Maybe you're checking a configuration file before deployment, or verifying an API response structure. Validate mode checks syntax without modifying your data.
Advanced Options Explained
Sorting Keys
When you enable key sorting, all object properties are arranged alphabetically. This is incredibly useful for:
- Comparing two JSON files to find differences
- Creating consistent output for version control
- Making configuration files easier to navigate
- Standardizing API response formats
Comment Removal
Strictly speaking, JSON doesn't support comments. But many configuration formats (like tsconfig.json or VS Code settings) use JSON-with-comments. Our tool can strip these comments so you can use the JSON in standard parsers.
JSON Statistics
After processing, you get detailed statistics about your JSON structure. This helps you understand the complexity of your data and catch potential issues like unexpectedly large arrays or deeply nested objects.
Need to analyze text that isn't JSON? Check out our Text Statistics tool for comprehensive text analysis including word frequency and duplicate detection.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I format JSON with comments?
Yes! Enable the 'Remove Comments' option to strip single-line (//) and multi-line (/* */) comments before parsing. Note that standard JSON doesn't support comments, so this feature is useful for JSON-like configuration files.
What's the difference between prettify and minify?
Prettify adds indentation and line breaks for human readability. Minify removes all unnecessary whitespace to create the smallest possible file size, ideal for production deployments or API payloads.
How large of a JSON file can I process?
Our tool processes files in chunks, so you can handle multi-gigabyte files. The actual limit depends on your browser's memory. For extremely large files, we recommend splitting them or using command-line tools.
Does sorting keys change my data?
No, sorting keys only changes the order of object properties, not the actual data values. Arrays maintain their original order. This is useful for comparing JSON structures or creating consistent output.
What does 'Escape Unicode' do?
It converts non-ASCII characters to \uXXXX escape sequences. This is useful when your JSON needs to be compatible with systems that don't handle UTF-8 encoding properly.