How to use the HTML Formatter
1. Paste your minified, compressed, or messy HTML into the Input panel on the left.
2. Click Format HTML to instantly reformat with 2-space indentation and consistent line breaks.
3. Review the Output on the right — tags are properly nested and indented so the structure is obvious at a glance.
4. Click Copy to copy the formatted code to your clipboard, then paste it back into your editor or file.
What is it?
HTML formatters parse raw markup and rewrite it with consistent indentation, aligned attributes, and logical line breaks. When you receive minified HTML from a build tool, template engine, or API response, it often appears as a single unreadable line. Formatting restores the hierarchical structure so you can quickly identify mismatched tags, missing closing elements, or incorrect nesting.
Proper formatting is especially useful during debugging: it lets you trace the DOM structure visually, spot unclosed <div> or <table> elements, and verify that conditional blocks are rendering the expected markup. This tool uses the industry-standard js-beautify library (the same engine behind VS Code's built-in HTML formatter), so output is compatible with your existing code style.
Note: Formatting is purely cosmetic — it does not change how browsers parse or render the HTML. The output is semantically identical to the input.
Example
<html><head><title>My Page</title></head><body><h1>Hello</h1><p>World</p></body></html>
<html>
<head>
<title>My Page</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Hello</h1>
<p>World</p>
</body>
</html>Benefits
Make nested markup readable in seconds
Prettified HTML reveals element hierarchy and nesting structure — deeply nested divs and components are immediately traceable.
Debug rendered output from templates and generators
Format HTML produced by Jinja2, Handlebars, or Rails ERB to see what your template is actually rendering.
Minify for production, beautify for debugging
Toggle between minified and formatted HTML for the same file — useful when inspecting third-party or CDN-served markup.
Review third-party code before using it
Beautify HTML copied from external sources to understand structure and spot hidden elements before pasting into your project.
Frequently asked questions
Does formatting change what the browser renders?
No. Whitespace between block-level HTML elements has no visual effect in browsers. The formatted code is semantically identical to the original — only the whitespace and indentation are changed.
Can I use this on HTML that contains embedded JavaScript or CSS?
Yes. The formatter handles inline <script> and <style> blocks and also beautifies the JavaScript and CSS within them using the same js-beautify engine.
What indentation size does it use?
The formatter uses 2-space indentation by default, which is the most common convention in modern web development. This matches the default style in VS Code, Prettier, and most HTML linters.
Is my code sent to a server?
No. All processing happens entirely in your browser using JavaScript. Your code never leaves your device, making this tool safe for private or proprietary markup.