How to Format JSON — Step-by-Step Guide

Why Format JSON?

Raw JSON from APIs often arrives minified — all on one line with no spacing. While valid, it's nearly impossible to read. Formatting adds indentation and line breaks so you can quickly spot structure, find values, and debug issues.

Before and After: JSON Formatting

Minified JSON (hard to read):

{"users":[{"id":1,"name":"Alice","role":"admin"},{"id":2,"name":"Bob","role":"user"}],"total":2}

Formatted JSON (easy to read):

{
  "users": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "name": "Alice",
      "role": "admin"
    },
    {
      "id": 2,
      "name": "Bob",
      "role": "user"
    }
  ],
  "total": 2
}

How to Format JSON Online (Fastest Method)

1. Copy your raw JSON from API response, log file, or config
2. Open the DevToolsKit JSON Formatter
3. Paste JSON into the input field
4. Click "Format" to beautify with 2-space indentation
5. Copy the formatted output or download as a .json file

How to Minify JSON

Minifying removes all whitespace to reduce file size. Use minified JSON in production API responses and config files where readability doesn't matter. Click "Minify" in our JSON Formatter to compress formatted JSON to a single line.

Validate Before Formatting

If formatting fails, your JSON likely has syntax errors. Validate first to find the exact problem — trailing commas, single quotes, or unquoted keys are common culprits.

Format JSON in Code

JavaScript/Node.js:

const formatted = JSON.stringify(JSON.parse(rawJson), null, 2);
console.log(formatted);

Python:

import json
formatted = json.dumps(json.loads(raw_json), indent=2)
print(formatted)