Best JSON Formatter Tools and Extensions

In this article, we have covered the best JSON Formatter tools and extensions that remain the backbone of modern software development in 2025. We will also discuss the ecosystem of such tools and the key features that you must keep in mind while selecting the right tool for your use. 

What Is a JSON Formatter and Why Do Developers Need One?

What is JSON Formatting?

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) formatting is the conversion of raw data into an organized and structured layout that is easily readable. JSON formatter is a tool that takes raw data and unstructured data, then formats and transforms them into a clean, readable, and well-organized format. It adds proper indentation, line breaks, and spacing so developers can easily understand the structure of the data. Formatting makes the hierarchy of objects and arrays clear, helping developers quickly understand and work with the data. 

Minified vs Pretty-Printed JSON 

Minified formatting in JSON data is where all the unnecessary spaces, whitespace, lines, and breaks are removed and making the file smaller in size. The file becomes efficient for storage and transmission. Minified files are optimized for performance and allow faster transmission. 

Whereas, pretty-printed JSON is more readable and optimized for debugging. Pretty view format is more structured, easily readable, and more organized. Pretty print enhances the indentation to show levels of nested objects or arrays and maintains line breaks to separate objects, arrays, and key-value pairs. It also adjusts spacing around colons and commas for clarity and better visibility. 

 Best Online JSON Formatter Tools

Here is the list of the best online JSON Formatter Tools:

1. JSON Formatter & Validator (jsonformatter.org)

JSON Formatter and JSON Validator help to auto-format JSON and validate your JSON text. It also provides a tree view that helps to navigate your formatted JSON data. This tool converts raw, minified JSON formats to a pretty-print format. This tool automatically checks the missing commas, unmatched brackets, and invalid data types. 

Features: 

• This tool is easy to use with a simple interface. 
• You can directly work in the browser, as this tool is web-based, with no installation required. 
• Provides results in a tree view for better visualization. 
• It can handle large data and process large JSON payloads. 
• Most of the features are available for free use. 

2. JSONLint

JSONLint is a widely used tool that validates and formats JSON data. It is a trusted platform that is popular among developers for quickly checking whether JSON is syntactically correct before using it in APIs. JSONLint can format raw or minified JSON into a readable, well-indented structure, making it easier to debug and understand. 

Features:

• Its core strength is validation, and it can correct missing commas, incorrect use of quotes, and other errors. 
• It has a simple and minimal interface and is lightweight to use. 
• It is free and available online for quick checks during development or testing.

3. JSON Editor Online

JSON Editor Online is a browser-based online formatter that is an interactive tool for viewing, editing, formatting, and validating JSON data. This tool allows you to edit JSON directly in a structured way. You can modify, add, remove, or rearrange data. You can directly paste the loaded data into the editor, as it supports efficient import and export of the data. 

Features:

• Provides interactive editing where you can easily modify and restructure JSON data. 
• Easily spotting errors and fixing them within the interface. 
• It is a web-based, free tool that can also make nested JSON much easier to view.

4. CodeBeautify JSON Formatter

CodeBeautify JSON Formatter tool helps developers to format, validate, and beautify the JSON data instantly. This tool converts raw and minified data into a structured, clean, and readable format. This tool automatically checks for JSON syntax errors, such as missing commas, brackets, incorrect quotes, etc. CodeBeautify also allows JSON minification, which is useful for optimizing payloads in production environments.

Features:

• It provides a tree view for visually exploring nested JSON and a text view for copying or editing formatted JSON. 
• CodeBeautify supports multiple input methods like paste, file upload, and URL-based JSON input.
• Most of the features are provided without payment or signup. 
• Users can switch to related tools like JSON to XML, JSON Viewer, or JSON Validator.

Best Desktop JSON Formatter Tools 

Here is the list of the best Desktop JSON Formatter Tools:

1. VS Code Built-in JSON Tools

Visual Studio Code Built-in is a code-based editing tool that also allows developers to format, validate, edit, and debug JSON directly inside their editor. It also supports an offline workflow system and is ideal for real-world development workflows. It can format entire files or selected JSON. 

Features: 

• This tool is ideal for real development and works directly within your project files.
• It prevents invalid JSON from being saved and is completely secure. 
• Also supports offline working with a safe interface. 
• It can be easily enhanced further using extensions. 

2. Sublime Text JSON Plugins 

Sublime Text is a popular lightweight code editor, and with the right JSON plugins, it becomes a powerful tool for formatting, validating, and navigating JSON files. These plugins are especially valued by developers who prefer speed, minimal UI, and keyboard-driven workflows.

3. Postman (for API JSON Responses)

Postman is a widely used API development and testing platform that provides powerful built-in tools for working with JSON API responses. It supports automatic JSON formatting, making API responses easy to read without any manual formatting. Developers can efficiently search for specific keys or values, collapse and expand JSON objects, and navigate large and deeply nested API responses. 

Features: 

• It provides multiple viewing options in different formats, like pretty view, raw view, or preview view. 
• Postman highlights malformed JSON and displays parsing errors when the API response is invalid.
• It supports advanced debugging of test scripts and response validation, and helps catch issues early.
• It can handle large API responses, as this tool is designed specifically for handling API requests. 

Best JSON Formatter Browser Extensions

1. JSON Formatter for Chrome

JSON Formatter for Chrome is a browser extension that automatically formats and displays JSON data in a clean, readable layout whenever you open a JSON response in the browser. This can work as an extension which especially useful for developers who frequently inspect API endpoints directly in Chrome.

Features: 

• This extension detects JSON content automatically. 
• It can convert raw or minified JSON into a well-indented and readable format. 
• It allows easy navigation for nested objects and arrays and provides collapsible tree structure viewing formats. 
• It can help in enhancing the productivity of developers and save time. 

2. JSON Viewer Pro

JSON Viewer Pro is an advanced JSON viewing and formatting tool that is commonly available as a browser extension. It is helpful for developers to inspect, format, and navigate complex JSON data efficiently. It can automatically detect JSON responses and convert the raw and minified JSON data into a readable and structured format. With the advanced tree view provided by this extension, you can navigate large API responses without scrolling endlessly. 

Features:

• It works directly in the browser. Once it is installed, the tool automatically formats JSON data returned by API endpoints.
• It is ideal for inspecting REST API responses directly in the browser.
• This tool is time-saving as it eliminates the need for manual formatting or using other external editing tools. 

3. Firefox JSON Formatter Extensions

The Firefox JSON Extension helps in enhancing the browser’s ability to display clean and structured JSON data. This extension automatically formats JSON responses and presents them in a developer-friendly view instead of showing raw or unstructured data.  This tool detects JSON content automatically and then converts it into a pretty-printed format, which also improves the readability. Some of the popular Firefox extensions, such as JSONView or JSON Lite, are especially useful for large API payloads.

Features: 

• You can view results in expandable and collapsible tree views, enhancing faster understanding of the data. 
• JSON keys, values, numbers, booleans, and null values are color-coded, making the data easier to scan and debug. 
• They are relevant for API inspection for viewing REST API endpoints and webhook responses directly in the browser.

Key Features to Look for in a JSON Formatter Tool

There are several key features you must look into before choosing the best JSON Formatter tool. You must focus on features that enhance your readability, accuracy, performance, privacy, and productivity. Let’s take a look at a few of the key features. 

Syntax Highlighting

Syntax highlighting is one of the main features, in which colour coding is used to distinguish keys, values, strings, numbers, booleans, and null. This visual clarity makes large blocks of JSON easier to scan and reduces cognitive load.

Tree View vs Code View

The JSON tool must provide different viewing formats in structured ways, such as tree view, code view, pretty view, etc. Such views offer flexibility for developers.

JSON Validation & Error Detection

Your tool must validate, verify, and detect errors in the JSON data. The JSON Formatter tool spots missing commas, trailing commas, and unquoted keys. It also detects mismatched brackets and provides clear viewing. 

Handling Large JSON Files

Most of the JSON tools are unable to handle large files or huge data. To choose the right tool, you must select the tool that can handle performance with large files. 

Privacy & Offline Support

Tools that offer privacy while maintaining the credential files and keeping them secure must be prioritized while choosing the right tool. A tool that also supports offline working and lets users prepare JSON for both development and production environments.

JSON Formatter vs JSON Validator vs JSON Viewer

JSON tools like formatter, validator, or viewer all have different purposes and uses. Let’s take a glance at how they differ from each other. 

JSON Formatter

A JSON Formatter tool turns the raw and minified JSON into a clean, readable, indented format. It converts the data into pretty-print, easily readable JSON and simplifies complex structures. It also helps in preparing JSON for documentation or emails.

JSON Validator

JSON Validator verifies that the JSON is syntactically correct and adheres to JSON rules. It detects missing/extra commas, bad quotes, and unmatched brackets. It also verifies if the JSON is valid or not. 

JSON Viewer

JSON Viewer displays the JSON data in a structured and interactive format. It also shows JSON as a tree with expandable and collapsible views. It makes the navigation easy for large JSON data and shows data in a tree and structured format. It also helps in exploring large API responses. 

Future of JSON Formatter Tools

As we look forward to future aspects of growing tech tools and software, there could be several enhancements in the JSON formatting tools as well. With the growing age of artificial intelligence, the JSON formatting tools are poised to become smarter, faster, and more integrated. There could be AI-assisted JSON data inspection and responses, which could potentially bring a developer-friendly environment. There could be better data structures, AI summarization of the data, or enhanced error handling. These capabilities will reduce manual digging and accelerate debugging and data exploration. Future JSON tools can blend formatting, validation, AI insights, and analytics to help teams and developers. Tools that are AI-enhanced and stand out in terms of developer utilization can become more data-driven. 

Conclusion 

We know there are numerous tools and techniques for every task and evolving technology, but the awareness and adaptability of such tools are what matter to keep them as a fundamental requirement. Whether you’re a developer debugging APIs, analyzing logs, or preparing JSON for documentation, the right tool can dramatically speed up your workflow and reduce errors. Therefore, choosing the right JSON tool can significantly improve your workflow.