JSON Viewer & Beautifier.

Paste, upload, or drop in JSON and explore it as an interactive tree, or beautify and minify it with custom indentation — validated instantly in your browser.

What This Tool Does

Interactive Tree View

Every object and array renders as a collapsible node. Expand or collapse individual branches, or use Expand All / Collapse All to navigate deeply nested API responses fast.

Beautify or Minify

Pretty-print with 2 spaces, 4 spaces, or tabs for readability, or minify to a single compact line for the smallest possible payload. Syntax-highlighted for keys, strings, numbers, booleans, and null.

Instant Validation

Invalid JSON is flagged as you type, with the exact error message plus a clickable line and column reference that jumps your cursor straight to the problem.

Sort Keys & Copy Nodes

Recursively sort object keys alphabetically to make documents easier to diff, and copy any individual value, object, or array straight from the tree with one click.

A Free Online JSON Viewer, Formatter, and Validator

JSON is the backbone of modern APIs, config files, and log payloads — but a minified API response or a hand-edited config file is nearly unreadable as a single unbroken line. This JSON viewer parses what you paste, upload, or type and gives you two ways to make sense of it: a collapsible tree you can expand and collapse node by node, and a beautified or minified text view you can copy or download. Every keystroke is validated locally, so a typo — a missing comma, an unescaped quote, a trailing comma before a closing brace — is caught the moment it happens, with the exact line and column called out.

Key Features

  • Collapsible tree explorer: Expand or collapse any object or array, individually or all at once, to navigate deeply nested structures without losing your place
  • Beautify with custom indentation: Pretty-print with 2 spaces, 4 spaces, or tabs
  • One-click minify: Collapse formatted JSON to the smallest valid payload
  • Sort keys A–Z: Recursively reorder object keys alphabetically for easier visual diffing
  • Live syntax validation: See parse errors instantly, with a clickable line/column jump straight to the fault
  • Copy any node: Grab a single value, object, or array from the tree without touching the rest of the document
  • File upload & download: Load a .json file directly, or export your formatted or minified result back to disk
  • Browser-only processing: Nothing you paste or upload ever leaves your machine

How to View and Format JSON

  1. Paste JSON into the input box, click Paste, or upload a .json file
  2. Click Format JSON (or leave Live mode on to format as you type)
  3. Switch between Tree and Formatted views using the tabs above the output
  4. Adjust indentation, enable key sorting, or toggle minify in the settings panel
  5. Copy the result or download it as a .json file

Tree View vs. Formatted View

Tree view is built for exploration — collapse the parts of a large API response you don't care about and drill into the field you're actually debugging, with a copy button on every node. Formatted view is built for output — a syntax-highlighted, indentation-controlled text block you copy or download as-is, ready to paste into code, a ticket, or documentation.

Common Use Cases

  • Debugging API responses: Paste a minified response straight from your network tab and expand only the branch you're investigating
  • Reviewing config files: Beautify a hand-edited or generated JSON config before committing it
  • Reducing payload size: Minify JSON before embedding it in a script tag, query parameter, or storage value
  • Validating hand-written JSON: Catch syntax mistakes before they reach a parser in production
  • Preparing test fixtures: Sort keys and pretty-print sample data so fixture diffs in code review stay readable

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the JSON Viewer do?
It parses JSON you paste, upload, or type and renders it two ways: an interactive collapsible tree for exploring nested objects and arrays, and a beautified or minified text view for copying and downloading. Invalid JSON is flagged immediately with the line and column of the error.
What is the difference between beautify and minify?
Beautify (pretty-print) adds line breaks and indentation so JSON is easy to read — choose 2 spaces, 4 spaces, or tabs. Minify strips all whitespace to produce the smallest possible payload, which is what you'd send over the wire in production.
Can I sort JSON keys alphabetically?
Yes. Enable "Sort keys A–Z" in the options panel to recursively reorder every object's keys alphabetically, which makes it easier to diff two versions of the same document by eye.
How do I fix invalid JSON?
When your JSON fails to parse, the tool shows the exact error message plus a clickable line and column reference that jumps your cursor straight to the problem — usually a missing comma, an unescaped quote, or a trailing comma before a closing brace.
Is my JSON data uploaded anywhere?
No. Parsing, formatting, and rendering all happen locally in your browser using JavaScript. Your JSON — including uploaded files — is never transmitted to any server, which makes this safe to use with real API responses and configuration files.

Privacy & Security

All parsing and rendering happen entirely in your browser. No JSON you paste, type, or upload is ever sent to our servers.

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