About JSON Formatter & Validator

The JSON Formatter & Validator parses your raw JSON text, checks it for syntax errors, and renders the result as a collapsible interactive tree with syntax highlighting for keys, strings, numbers, booleans, and null values. You can choose between 2-space, 4-space, or tab indentation and instantly minify or sort keys alphabetically with a single click.

This tool is ideal for debugging API responses, cleaning up config files, and exploring deeply nested data structures. All processing happens entirely in your browser — your JSON is never sent to any server.

Common Use Cases

Formatting a compressed API response to inspect its structure before writing client-side parsing code
Validating JSON configuration files used in Node.js, Python, or Go applications before deploying
Sorting keys alphabetically to produce deterministic diffs in version control
Minifying JSON payloads to reduce the size of data sent over the network

How to Use

Paste your raw JSON into the Input panel, or click Paste to read from your clipboard
The formatter validates and renders the tree automatically as you type
Use the Indent toggle to switch between 2 spaces, 4 spaces, or tabs
Click Copy to copy the formatted output, or Minify to collapse it to one line

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this tool support JSON5 or JSON with comments?

No — the formatter uses the browser's native JSON.parse, which strictly follows the JSON specification. Comments and trailing commas are not valid JSON and will cause a parse error. Strip them out before pasting.

What does "Sort Keys" do?

Sort Keys recursively reorders all object keys alphabetically at every nesting level, then formats the result. This is useful for comparing two JSON objects in a diff tool where key order differs.

Is my data safe to paste here?

Yes. All parsing and formatting is done locally in your browser using JavaScript. No data is uploaded to any server, logged, or stored. You can safely paste sensitive API keys or credentials for inspection.