HTML Formatter
Reindent and tidy minified or messy HTML markup for readability. Paste any HTML, choose 2 or 4-space indentation, and get clean, properly nested markup back instantly — all processed locally in your browser.
Why We Built This Tool
Minified HTML shipped by a production build is nearly impossible to read by eye. This formatter focuses on one job — reconstructing proper indentation from tag nesting — so you can actually follow a page's markup structure when debugging.
How to Use It
Paste your HTML, choose 2 or 4-space indentation, and select "Format HTML". The tool rebuilds indentation based on each tag's open/close structure — including void elements like <br> and <img> — and gives you clean, readable markup back instantly, entirely in your browser.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Formatting a live production file directly
Solution:
This tool is for reading and understanding markup, not for safely editing a live deployed page. Always edit your actual template or source files, then rebuild/minify as part of your normal deployment process.
Expecting whitespace-sensitive tags to be preserved perfectly
Solution:
Content inside <pre>, <code>, and <textarea> can be whitespace-sensitive. Double-check these sections after formatting, since a general-purpose reindenter may not always preserve exact internal spacing.
Assuming formatting fixes invalid HTML
Solution:
This tool reindents markup — it does not validate or repair malformed HTML (like unclosed tags). If your markup is broken, formatting will reflect that structure rather than fix it.
Frequently Asked Questions
No — it reindents markup based on tag nesting. It assumes reasonably well-formed HTML; it does not check for spec compliance or fix broken tags.
No. Formatting only changes whitespace in the source — browsers already collapse most whitespace in rendered output, so visible layout is unaffected.
Yes — toggle between 2-space and 4-space indentation before formatting.
No. Formatting happens entirely in your browser — nothing is sent to a server.
Why formatted HTML matters
Minified production HTML is often a single dense line — nearly impossible to read or debug by eye. Reformatting restores indentation based on each tag's nesting, making the actual document structure visible again.
How the formatter works
The tool walks through your markup tag by tag, tracking open and close tags (and self-closing/void elements like
and ) to rebuild correct indentation at every nesting level.
When to use it
Use this whenever you need to read, learn from, or debug HTML source that was minified during a production build — it is a read/understand tool, not a live-editing tool for production pages.