JSON Formatter — Format, Minify, Validate
Format or minify JSON. Get validation errors, key count, and depth. Copy to clipboard.
Why This Technology Metric Matters
Why: Valid JSON is required for APIs and config. Formatting improves readability; minifying reduces size.
How: JSON.parse() validates. Formatted = 2-space indent; minified = no indent. Key count and depth computed recursively.
- ●Double quotes only
- ●No trailing commas
- ●JSON5 allows comments
Sample Scenarios — Click to Load
Inputs
{
"name": "John",
"age": 30
}Format Summary
Input
Output
⚠️For educational and informational purposes only. Verify with a qualified professional.
🔧 Tech Milestones
JSON = subset of JS object literal
— ECMA
No trailing commas in JSON
— RFC
Valid JSON uses double quotes for keys and strings. No trailing commas. Formatted = 2-space indent; minified = no whitespace. Key count and depth are computed recursively.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between JSON and JavaScript object?
JSON is a data format; keys must be double-quoted strings. JavaScript objects can use unquoted keys and single quotes. JSON does not support functions, undefined, or trailing commas.
What does minify mean?
Minifying removes all unnecessary whitespace and newlines to reduce file size. Useful for API responses and config files where size matters.
Why does my JSON fail validation?
Common causes: single quotes instead of double, trailing commas, unquoted keys, or invalid escape sequences. Use this tool to see the exact error message.
What is JSON depth?
Depth is the maximum nesting level of objects/arrays. {"a":{"b":1}} has depth 2. Deep structures can cause stack overflow in some parsers.
Can JSON have comments?
No. Standard JSON does not support comments. Use JSON5 or strip comments before parsing.
How do I handle large JSON?
For very large files, consider streaming parsers. This tool parses in memory.