How to use the HTML Formatter / Beautifier
Format your HTML in three simple steps:
1
Paste your HTML
Paste minified, messy, or single-line HTML into the input panel. You can also click the upload icon to load a .html or .htm file directly from your device.
2
Choose indent size and click Format
Select 2, 4, or 8 spaces from the indent control, then press 'Format HTML'. The output panel shows your properly indented, human-readable HTML immediately.
3
Copy or download
Click Copy to send the formatted HTML to your clipboard, or use the Download button to save it as a .html file.
When to use this tool
Use the HTML formatter whenever readable, consistently indented markup matters:
- →Reformatting minified or bundled HTML back into human-readable code for debugging
- →Cleaning up HTML exported from site generators, CMS platforms, or design tools like Figma
- →Standardising indentation across template files from multiple contributors
- →Making third-party widget embed codes readable before customising them
- →Formatting HTML email templates that were condensed for delivery
- →Preparing HTML snippets for code reviews, documentation, or tutorial articles
- →Tidying scraped page source before extracting data or analysing structure
Frequently asked questions
Q:Does the HTML formatter support HTML5 self-closing and void elements?
Yes — the formatter has a built-in list of all HTML5 void elements (br, hr, img, input, link, meta, source, track, wbr, and others). These are never given an extra indentation level, and no closing tag is expected for them. Both <br> and <br/> styles are handled correctly.
Q:Will it format embedded <script> and <style> blocks?
The formatter recognises <script> and <style> blocks and preserves their content as a verbatim block without re-indenting the inner code. This avoids accidentally corrupting inline JavaScript or CSS. Use the dedicated JavaScript Formatter or CSS Formatter tools to format the inner code separately.
Q:Can I use it on a full HTML page including DOCTYPE?
Yes — paste a complete HTML document including the DOCTYPE declaration, <html>, <head>, and <body> tags. The formatter handles the full document structure correctly, indenting nested elements at every level.
Q:Does it change any attributes or content — is it safe to use on production HTML?
The formatter only adjusts whitespace between tags and adds indentation. It does not alter, reorder, or add attributes, change tag names, modify text content, or remove any markup. The output is semantically identical to the input — safe to use on production templates.
Q:Is there a file size limit for the HTML I can format?
There is no enforced limit — the tool runs entirely in your browser. In practice it handles large HTML files (hundreds of kilobytes) without issue. Very large documents may take a second or two on slower devices.
Q:Does my code get sent to a server when I use this tool?
No — the entire formatting process runs locally in your browser using JavaScript. Your HTML code is never transmitted to any server, logged, or stored anywhere. It is completely safe to use with proprietary templates, internal tools, or confidential content.
Q:What is the difference between an HTML formatter and an HTML validator?
A formatter (or beautifier) only adjusts indentation and whitespace to make code readable — it does not check for errors. An HTML validator checks structural correctness: unclosed tags, invalid nesting, missing required attributes, and compliance with the HTML specification. Use a formatter for readability; use the W3C Markup Validation Service for correctness.