How to Format JSON: A Complete Guide for Developers

Raw JSON is hard to read. This guide shows you how to format JSON for readability — using code, command-line tools, and our free online formatter.

What Is JSON Formatting?

JSON formatting is the process of adding whitespace — indentation, line breaks, and spacing — to JSON data so humans can read it. The underlying data does not change. Only the presentation changes.

{"users":[{"id":1,"name":"Alice","roles":["admin"]},{"id":2,"name":"Bob","roles":["viewer"]}],"settings":{"theme":"dark","notifications":true}}

{
  "users": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "name": "Alice",
      "roles": ["admin"]
    },
    {
      "id": 2,
      "name": "Bob",
      "roles": ["viewer"]
    }
  ],
  "settings": {
    "theme": "dark",
    "notifications": true
  }
}

Why Formatting JSON Matters

How to Format JSON Manually

JavaScript: JSON.stringify()

const obj = { name: "Alice", age: 30 };

// Format with 2-space indentation
const formatted = JSON.stringify(obj, null, 2);
console.log(formatted);

// Output:
// {
//   "name": "Alice",
//   "age": 30
// }

Python: json.dumps()

import json

data = {"name": "Alice", "age": 30}

# Format with 2-space indentation
formatted = json.dumps(data, indent=2)
print(formatted)

Command Line: jq

# Format a JSON file
jq . data.json > formatted.json

# Format from stdin
cat data.json | jq .

# Format with 4-space indentation
jq --indent 4 . data.json

Common JSON Formatting Mistakes

How to Format JSON Online

If you do not want to write code or install tools, use our free JSON formatter. It runs entirely in your browser — no data is uploaded.

Frequently Asked Questions