HTML Formatter

Beautify or minify HTML instantly, right in your browser.

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About the HTML Formatter

What is an HTML formatter?

An HTML formatter takes markup that has been minified, generated by a CMS, or copied out of DevTools, and re-indents it so the document tree is actually visible — one tag per line, nested children stepped in, attributes tidied onto single spaces. This one formats live as you type and knows the parts of HTML that need special care: void elements like <img> and <br> never create phantom nesting, and the contents of <script>, <style>, <pre>, and <textarea> are preserved exactly as written.

The Minify mode goes the other way for production: comments and the whitespace between block tags are removed and attribute spacing collapsed, while those same raw elements stay byte-for-byte intact so embedded JavaScript, CSS, and preformatted text are never mangled. It's all self-contained in your browser — no CDN, no uploads, works offline.

How to Use This Tool

  1. Add your HTML. Paste it into the left editor, open an .html file, or click Sample.
  2. Watch it format. The indented result appears on the right as you type, with syntax highlighting on both sides.
  3. Pick your style. Choose 2 spaces, 4 spaces, or tabs — or flip to Minify and watch the size chips drop.
  4. Take the result. Copy it to your clipboard or download it as an .html file.

Common Use Cases

  • Reading generated markup: Format what your CMS, framework, or email builder actually produced.
  • Cleaning up copied code: HTML grabbed from view-source or DevTools becomes readable and editable.
  • Standardizing templates: Bring hand-edited partials back to consistent indentation.
  • Shipping lighter pages: Minify static HTML and see the byte savings immediately.
  • Preparing snippets: Format examples cleanly for documentation, blog posts, and answers.

Comparing two documents? Use the HTML Compare tool, check correctness with the HTML Validator, or strip tags entirely with the HTML Stripper.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will formatting break my embedded JavaScript or CSS?

No. The contents of script, style, pre, and textarea elements are treated as opaque and preserved exactly — in both beautify and minify modes. Only the markup around them is re-indented or compressed.

Does my HTML need to be perfectly valid?

No. The formatter is tolerant: it knows void elements, clamps runaway indentation from unclosed tags, and passes anything unrecognized straight through. Wildly broken markup formats best after a pass through the HTML Validator.

Is minifying HTML safe?

Generally yes. The minifier removes comments and whitespace-only gaps between tags and collapses runs of spaces in text — the same conservative strategy standard build tools use. In rare inline-element layouts where a space between tags is visually significant, spot-check the result.

Can it format a whole page including the doctype?

Yes. Doctype declarations, comments, and conditional fragments are all handled, so you can paste a complete document from view-source and get back a readable file.

What happens to attribute formatting?

Runs of whitespace inside a tag collapse to single spaces, so multi-line tags become one clean line. Attribute order and values are never changed.

Is my code uploaded anywhere?

No. Everything runs locally in your browser with self-contained JavaScript — no CDN requests, no server processing, no logging — and keeps working offline once the page has loaded.