HTML Formatter
Indent and tidy HTML.
HTML Formatter at a glance
HTML Formatter is a free online developer tool you can use right now to indent and tidy HTML โ no account, no install and no usage limit. It runs entirely inside your browser, so whatever you enter stays on your own device.
- Price
- Free โ no trial, no paid tier, no watermark
- Sign-up
- Not required
- Where it runs
- In your browser โ nothing is uploaded to a server
- Works on
- Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Edge โ desktop, tablet and phone
- Category
- Developer Tools
About HTML Formatter
Paste minified, exported or badly indented HTML and get it back with consistent indentation, so the nesting structure is visible at a glance.
This is most useful on HTML you did not write: markup exported from a page builder, copied out of devtools, or pasted from an email template where everything sits on one line. Reading that structure without indentation is genuinely difficult, and an unclosed div is nearly impossible to spot until the document is formatted.
Formatting reveals structural problems but does not fix them. Browsers are extremely forgiving of broken HTML โ they silently insert missing closing tags and reparent misplaced elements โ which is why a page can render acceptably while its markup is invalid. Once indented, an element that closes at the wrong level or a table cell outside a row becomes obvious.
A note on whitespace: HTML collapses runs of whitespace, so indentation is safe almost everywhere. The exceptions are <pre> and <textarea>, where whitespace is significant and reformatting changes what the user sees. Inline elements are also whitespace-sensitive at their boundaries โ adding a line break between two <span>s introduces a rendered space that was not there before.
How to use HTML Formatter
- Paste your HTML into the box.
- It is re-indented with consistent nesting automatically.
- Copy the tidied markup, or use the visible structure to find an unclosed tag.
Frequently asked questions
Does formatting fix broken HTML?
No โ it makes problems visible rather than repairing them. Once indented, an unclosed div or a misplaced element is obvious, but you still need to correct it yourself.
Will re-indenting change how my page renders?
Almost never, since HTML collapses runs of whitespace. The exceptions are <pre> and <textarea>, where whitespace is preserved, and the boundaries between inline elements, where a new line break introduces a rendered space.
Why does my page render fine if the HTML is invalid?
Browsers recover aggressively from malformed markup, inserting missing tags and moving misplaced elements. It usually works, but the result can differ between browsers and often breaks scripts and styles that expect the structure you intended.
Can I format an email template?
Yes, and email HTML is exactly where this helps most, since those templates are typically deeply nested tables exported as a single line. Keep the formatted version for editing and minify before sending, as some clients are sensitive to overall size.