JSON Viewer, Beautifier & Minifier
Paste JSON to validate it, pretty-print or minify it, and explore the structure as a collapsible, color-coded tree. Everything runs locally in your browser.
JSON viewer & formatter
Validation runs as you type and your data never leaves the page. Use the buttons to reformat, or explore the collapsible tree below.
About JSON Viewer, Beautifier & Minifier
This JSON viewer, formatter and minifier gives you three jobs in one place. As soon as you paste text into the input, it is parsed and checked, and a clear Valid JSON or Invalid JSON badge appears. When the JSON is malformed, the exact parser error message is shown so you can jump to the offending comma, quote or bracket instead of hunting blindly.
For formatting, the Pretty-print button rewrites the document with clean two-space indentation so deeply nested objects and arrays become readable. The Minify button does the opposite, stripping all whitespace to produce the most compact single-line form, which is what you want for API payloads, config values or anything where byte count matters. The formatted output has its own copy button, so moving the result into your editor or terminal is a single click.
Below the formatter, a live tree view renders the parsed data as an expandable hierarchy. Objects and arrays collapse and expand on click, and collapsed nodes show how many items they contain so you can gauge size at a glance. Values are color-coded by type, strings, numbers, booleans and null each get their own color, and keys are highlighted, which makes it far easier to scan a large response than reading raw text.
The viewer is a client-side tool: your JSON is parsed with the browser's own JSON engine and never leaves the page. No upload, no server round-trip and no logging, which is important when the payload contains API keys, personal data or internal fields. On dns-checker.eu it is served from EU infrastructure with no third-party trackers, so it is a private, GDPR-friendly alternative to formatters that post your data to a backend.
How to use it
- 1Paste or type your JSON into the input box; validation runs automatically as you type.
- 2Check the Valid or Invalid badge, and read the error message if the JSON does not parse.
- 3Click Pretty-print for readable, indented output or Minify for a compact single line.
- 4Use the copy button to grab the formatted result.
- 5Explore the collapsible tree view below to expand, collapse and inspect nested objects and arrays.
Common use cases
- -Developers inspecting and debugging API responses or request bodies.
- -Quickly validating whether a JSON snippet is well-formed before pasting it into code or a config file.
- -Minifying JSON to reduce payload size, or pretty-printing a minified blob to make it readable.
- -Exploring the shape of an unfamiliar or deeply nested JSON document via the tree view.
- -Working with sensitive payloads that must stay local and never be uploaded to a third-party site.
Frequently asked questions
- What does a JSON viewer do?
- A JSON viewer parses JSON text and displays it in a readable form, typically an indented document and an expandable tree. This tool also validates the JSON, reports syntax errors, and lets you pretty-print or minify it, all in the browser.
- How do I format (pretty-print) JSON?
- Paste your JSON and click Pretty-print. The tool re-serializes the data with two-space indentation and line breaks so nested objects and arrays are easy to read, then offers a one-click copy of the result.
- How do I minify JSON?
- Paste valid JSON and click Minify. All optional whitespace and line breaks are removed to produce the smallest single-line representation, which is ideal for API payloads, environment variables and compact storage.
- Is this JSON tool safe and private?
- Yes. The JSON is parsed entirely in your browser and is never uploaded, stored or logged. That makes it safe for payloads containing API keys, tokens or personal data, and the tool is served from EU servers with no third-party trackers.
- Why is my JSON invalid?
- Common causes are trailing commas, single quotes instead of double quotes, unquoted keys, or a missing bracket or brace. The tool shows the parser's error message so you can locate and fix the exact problem.