JSON Formatter & Validator
Format, beautify, validate, and minify JSON data instantly.
📖 How It Works
What is JSON?
JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a lightweight data interchange format that's easy for humans to read and write and easy for machines to parse and generate. It's the most common format for APIs and configuration files.
Format vs Minify
Format/Beautify: Adds proper indentation and line breaks to make JSON readable. Ideal for debugging and reviewing data structure.
Minify: Removes all unnecessary whitespace to reduce file size. Perfect for production environments where bandwidth matters.
💡 Pro Tip: Use keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Enter (Cmd+Enter on Mac) to quickly format your JSON after pasting.
🎯 Common Use Cases
- API Development: Format API responses for easier debugging
- Configuration Files: Validate and beautify config.json files
- Data Analysis: Make large JSON datasets readable
- Database Export: Format MongoDB or other NoSQL exports
- Web Development: Debug localStorage or sessionStorage data
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
The tool detects syntax errors including: missing quotes, trailing commas, mismatched brackets, invalid escape sequences, and incorrect data types. It shows the exact line and character position of errors.
There's no strict limit, but very large JSON files (over 10MB) may cause browser slowdowns. For best performance, keep files under 5MB.
Standard JSON doesn't support comments. If your JSON contains comments (like JSONC), they'll cause validation errors. Consider using JSON5 format for commented JSON.