JSON Formatter
Format, validate, and beautify your JSON data with professional syntax highlighting. Completely free, fast, and secure.
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JSON Formatter
Format, validate, and beautify JSON data with syntax highlighting, error detection, and minification. Professional JSON formatter for developers with real-time validation and schema support. Completely client-side processing.
Input JSON
Formatted JSON
Formatted JSON will appear here...
Smart Formatting
Automatically format and beautify JSON with proper indentation
Real-time Validation
Instant error detection with detailed error messages
Easy Export
Copy to clipboard or download formatted JSON files
Key Features
Professional-grade tool designed for speed, security, and simplicity
Format & Beautify
Automatically format messy or minified JSON with proper indentation and syntax highlighting.
Validate & Debug
Detect syntax errors with precise error messages showing line numbers and issue descriptions.
Minify & Copy
Compress JSON by removing whitespace or copy formatted/minified output with one click.
How JSON Formatting Works
Paste your JSON data, and the tool automatically validates syntax, highlights errors, and formats with proper indentation.
Paste JSON
Copy and paste raw, minified, or malformed JSON text.
Auto-Validate
Parser checks syntax and highlights errors with line numbers instantly.
Format or Minify
Choose to beautify with indentation or compress to single-line for production.
Copy Output
One-click copy to clipboard for easy integration into code.
Who Uses JSON Formatters
API Development
Debug API responses, validate request payloads, and format configuration files.
Database Management
Format MongoDB documents, validate NoSQL data structures, and export readable dumps.
Frontend Development
Validate JSON configs for package.json, tsconfig, and state management objects.
Understanding JSON Format
JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is the universal data exchange format for APIs, configuration files, and modern web applications.
What is JSON?
JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a lightweight, human-readable data format created in the early 2000s. It uses key-value pairs and arrays to represent structured data. JSON is language-independent but follows JavaScript object syntax, making it the standard for web APIs and modern applications.
- ✓ Human-readable and writable
- ✓ Language-independent standard
- ✓ Lightweight data interchange
JSON Data Types
JSON supports six core data types: strings (quoted text), numbers (integers/floats), booleans (true/false), null (empty value), objects (curly braces with key-value pairs), and arrays (square brackets with ordered lists). No support for dates, functions, or undefined.
- • String: "text"
- • Number: 42, 3.14
- • Boolean: true, false
- • Object, Array, null
Common JSON Errors
Most JSON errors stem from missing commas, trailing commas (not allowed in standard JSON), unquoted keys, single quotes instead of double quotes, or unclosed brackets/braces. Our validator pinpoints these issues with line numbers for quick fixes.
- • Missing/trailing commas
- • Unquoted property names
- • Single quotes (' vs ")
- • Unclosed brackets/braces
JSON vs XML
JSON replaced XML as the preferred data format for APIs due to simpler syntax, smaller file sizes (no closing tags), and native JavaScript parsing. XML is still used for complex documents (SOAP, RSS) where schema validation and namespaces are needed.
- ✓ JSON: Simpler, faster parsing
- ✓ JSON: Smaller file sizes
- • XML: Better for documents
JSON in REST APIs
RESTful APIs use JSON as the primary format for request and response payloads. The Content-Type header "application/json" signals JSON data. Modern frameworks (Node, Django, Rails) include built-in JSON serialization and parsing for seamless API development.
- • Standard for REST APIs
- • Content-Type: application/json
- • Native framework support
JSON Security
Never use eval() to parse JSON—it executes arbitrary code. Always use JSON.parse() in JavaScript or equivalent safe parsers. Validate untrusted JSON against schemas (JSON Schema) to prevent injection attacks and ensure data integrity.
- ✗ Never use eval()
- ✓ Use JSON.parse() safely
- ✓ Validate with JSON Schema
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