Code Beautifier

Tool Overview

This code beautifier helps you format and clean up code in multiple programming languages. It takes messy, unformatted code and makes it readable with consistent indentation and spacing. It works with PHP, JavaScript, JSON, HTML, CSS, SQL, and XML code.

You paste your code into the tool, and it automatically detects the language and formats it. You can choose indentation size, see syntax validation, view changes in a diff view, and get AI powered code analysis. The tool makes code easier to read, review, and maintain.

This tool is for developers, code reviewers, students learning programming, and anyone who works with code. It helps when you receive unformatted code, need to clean up legacy code, or want to standardize formatting across a project. Basic knowledge of programming is helpful but not required.

The main problem it solves is that code often becomes hard to read when written quickly or copied from different sources. When code has inconsistent indentation, missing spaces, or poor structure, it is difficult to understand and debug. This tool applies consistent formatting rules to make code readable and professional.

Background & Concept Explanation

Code formatting means applying consistent rules to how code looks. It includes indentation, spacing around operators, line breaks, and structure. Well formatted code is easier to read, understand, and maintain.

Different programming languages have different formatting conventions. JavaScript often uses 2 spaces for indentation. PHP code may use 4 spaces. HTML and XML use indentation to show nested elements. SQL queries benefit from proper line breaks and keyword capitalization.

Code formatting matters in professional development. Teams use consistent formatting to make code reviews easier. Well formatted code reduces bugs because problems are easier to spot. It helps new team members understand code faster. It makes version control diffs cleaner and easier to review. A related operation involves formatting HTML markup as part of a similar workflow.

When working with code, people face formatting challenges. Code copied from different sources has different styles. Quick edits introduce inconsistent formatting. Legacy code may not follow modern standards. Minified code is impossible to read without formatting.

Manual formatting is time consuming and error prone. It is easy to miss indentation errors or spacing issues. Different developers format code differently. This creates inconsistency across projects.

Code beautification automates the formatting process. It applies consistent rules based on the programming language. It handles indentation, spacing, line breaks, and structure automatically. This saves time and ensures consistency.

Language detection helps when you are not sure what language your code is. The tool analyzes code patterns to identify the language automatically. It looks for language specific keywords, syntax patterns, and file structure. Once detected, it applies the appropriate formatting rules.

Syntax validation checks if code follows correct syntax rules. It finds errors like unmatched braces, invalid JSON, or malformed XML. This helps catch problems before running the code. Validation errors are shown with clear messages.

Key Features

• Support for multiple programming languages. The tool formats PHP, JavaScript, JSON, HTML, CSS, SQL, and XML code. Each language uses appropriate formatting rules. This covers most common web development and data formats.
• Automatic language detection. The tool analyzes your code to detect which language it is. It looks for language specific patterns like PHP tags, JSON structure, or SQL keywords. You can enable or disable auto detection based on your needs. This saves time when you are not sure what language your code is.
• Customizable indentation. You can choose 2 spaces or 4 spaces for indentation. The tool applies this consistently throughout your code. This lets you match your project's style guide or team preferences.
• Real time formatting. Code is formatted automatically as you type or paste it. The tool uses smart timing to avoid slowing down your browser. Results appear quickly without needing to click a button.
• Syntax validation. The tool checks your code for syntax errors. It validates JSON structure, JavaScript syntax, PHP braces, and XML structure. Errors are shown with clear messages and line numbers when available. This helps catch problems before running the code.
• Diff view to see changes. You can view formatted code with highlights showing what changed. Changed lines are highlighted with a background color. Line numbers help you navigate through the code. This makes it easy to verify that only formatting changed, not the logic.
• Code statistics display. The tool shows useful information about your code. It displays file size, number of lines, character count, word count, and complexity score. Complexity is calculated based on control flow statements like if, for, while, and function declarations. This helps you understand code structure and complexity at a glance.
• File upload support. You can upload code files directly instead of pasting code. The tool accepts common file extensions like .php, .js, .json, .html, .css, .sql, .xml, and .txt. This is useful for large files or when working with saved code files. The tool accepts files up to 500 kilobytes in size.
• Copy to clipboard. You can copy the formatted code to your clipboard with one click. This makes it easy to use the formatted code in other tools or paste it into your editor.
• Download formatted code. You can download the formatted code as a file. The file extension matches the detected language automatically. This lets you save cleaned code for later use or sharing.
• Sample code loader. You can load sample code for any supported language. This helps you see how the tool works or test formatting options. Samples show real world code examples for each language.
• AI powered code analysis. You can request AI analysis of your code. The AI examines the code structure and provides insights. It can suggest improvements, explain patterns, or identify potential issues. This helps you learn and improve your code.
• Size and complexity limits. The tool accepts code up to 500 kilobytes, 10,000 lines, and 1,000 characters per line. It checks these limits before processing to prevent browser problems. If your code exceeds limits, it shows a clear error message. This protects your browser from crashes when working with very large files.
• Language specific formatting rules. Each language uses appropriate formatting rules. JavaScript preserves newlines and uses proper brace placement. JSON uses consistent indentation and proper structure. HTML indents nested elements and wraps attributes automatically. SQL capitalizes keywords and formats queries with proper line breaks. PHP normalizes spacing around operators and indents blocks correctly.

Common Use Cases

A developer receives unformatted code from a colleague or external source. They paste it into the beautifier, enable auto detection, and see it formatted with consistent indentation. They can then easily review and understand the code structure. For adjacent tasks, formatting CSS addresses a complementary step.

A code reviewer needs to review a pull request with messy formatting. They use the beautifier to format the code first, making it easier to spot logic issues. The diff view helps them see what actually changed versus what was just reformatted.

A developer needs to clean up legacy code before refactoring. They format the code to make it readable, then use AI analysis to understand the structure. This helps them plan refactoring more effectively.

A student learning programming receives example code that is hard to read. They use the beautifier to format it, making it easier to understand the structure. They also use syntax validation to check if their own code is correct.

A developer needs to standardize code formatting across a project. They use the beautifier with consistent settings to format all files the same way. This ensures readability and reduces merge conflicts in version control.

A developer receives minified JavaScript code and needs to debug it. They paste it into the beautifier and see it formatted with proper indentation and line breaks. They can then easily read and understand the code structure.

A developer needs to format JSON data received from an API. They paste the JSON into the beautifier, and it formats it with proper indentation. They can then easily read and verify the data structure. When working with related formats, formatting JavaScript can be a useful part of the process.

A developer needs to format SQL queries for documentation. They paste the queries into the beautifier, and it formats them with proper keyword capitalization and line breaks. The formatted queries are easier to read and understand in documentation.

How to Use This Tool (Step-by-Step)

1. Open the code beautifier tool. You will see an input area on the left and an output area on the right.
2. Choose your language from the dropdown menu if you know what language your code is. Options include PHP, JavaScript, JSON, HTML, CSS, SQL, and XML. Alternatively, enable auto detection to let the tool guess the language.
3. Select your indentation preference. Click 2 for 2 spaces or 4 for 4 spaces. The formatting will adjust based on your selection.
4. Add your code using one of three methods. Paste code directly into the input area. Click the Upload button to select a code file from your computer. Click the Sample button to load example code for the selected language.
5. Wait a moment while the tool processes your code. Formatting happens automatically after a short pause. The status bar shows when the tool is processing.
6. Check the status bar below the controls. If it shows Valid followed by the language name, your code formatted successfully. If it shows an error, review the error message to understand the problem.
7. Review the formatted output on the right side. Make sure the structure looks correct and that all formatting was applied as expected. If needed, adjust the language or indentation and let the tool reformat.
8. Toggle the diff view using the eye icon in the output panel. This highlights lines that changed during formatting. Use this to verify that only spacing changed, not the actual code logic.
9. Review the statistics shown below the input panel if available. These show file size, number of lines, character count, word count, and complexity score. This helps you understand your code structure.
10. If there are syntax errors, read the error messages in the status bar. Fix the errors in your source code, then paste again. The tool will validate the code again after formatting.
11. For help understanding your code, click the Analyze button in the AI Analysis section. This uses AI to examine your code and provide insights. Wait for the analysis to complete, then read the suggestions.
12. Use the copy button to copy the formatted code to your clipboard. This is in the top right of the control bar. Click it to copy the formatted code.
13. Use the download button to save the formatted code as a file. The file extension matches the detected language automatically. Click it to download the formatted code.
14. To start over, click the clear button to remove all input and output. This gives you a fresh start for new code.

Calculations & Logic

The tool first checks your input size using the browser's Blob API. It counts bytes and compares to a 500 kilobyte limit. It also counts lines and checks for lines longer than 1,000 characters. If any limit is exceeded, it shows an error and skips processing to protect your browser.

For language detection, the tool analyzes code patterns. It checks for PHP tags like <?php or <?=. It looks for JSON structure starting with curly braces or square brackets. It detects XML by looking for XML declarations or XML tag patterns. It identifies HTML by checking for HTML specific tags like html, head, or body. It finds SQL by looking for SQL keywords like SELECT, CREATE TABLE, or INSERT INTO. It recognizes CSS by checking for CSS selectors, properties, and media queries. If no pattern matches, it defaults to JavaScript.

For formatting, the tool uses language specific libraries and rules. JavaScript uses a JavaScript beautifier library that handles indentation, brace placement, and line breaks. JSON is parsed and re stringified with consistent indentation. HTML uses an HTML beautifier that indents nested elements and wraps attributes. CSS uses a CSS beautifier that formats selectors and properties. SQL uses a SQL formatter that capitalizes keywords and formats queries. XML uses HTML beautifier rules adapted for XML structure. PHP uses custom formatting logic that handles indentation, operator spacing, and brace placement.

Indentation is applied based on code structure. Opening braces, brackets, or parentheses increase indentation level. Closing braces, brackets, or parentheses decrease indentation level. Each level adds the chosen number of spaces, either 2 or 4. This creates a visual hierarchy that matches the code structure.

Syntax validation uses language specific checks. JSON is validated by attempting to parse it. JavaScript is validated using the Function constructor for basic syntax checking. PHP checks for unmatched braces by counting opening and closing braces. XML is validated using the browser's DOMParser to check structure. Other languages may have basic validation or skip validation. In some workflows, beautifying PHP is a relevant follow-up operation.

Statistics are calculated by analyzing the code text. File size is measured by converting the code string to bytes. Line count comes from splitting the code string by newline characters. Character count is the total length of the code string. Word count splits the code by whitespace and counts non empty segments. Complexity counts occurrences of control flow keywords like if, else, for, while, switch, case, catch, try, await, async, function, and class.

Diff calculation compares the original and formatted code line by line. It walks through both lists of lines and marks lines that differ. Changed lines are highlighted with a background color in the output. This makes it easy to see what formatting changed.

The tool uses debouncing to avoid processing code too frequently. When you type or paste, it waits a short time before processing. This prevents the browser from slowing down when working with large files or fast typing. Processing happens in the background so the interface stays responsive.

AI analysis sends a truncated copy of your code to a backend service. The tool limits the text to about 50 kilobytes to control processing cost. The backend returns analysis and suggestions in text format. The result is displayed in a panel below the output without changing your code.

Tips, Limitations & Best Practices

Always review the detected language before formatting. The tool guesses correctly most of the time, but unusual code may confuse it. If the language is wrong, select it manually from the dropdown.

Use consistent indentation across your project. If your team uses 2 spaces, stick with 2 spaces. If they use 4 spaces, use 4 spaces. Consistency makes code reviews and collaboration easier. For related processing needs, beautifying JavaScript handles a complementary task.

Use the diff view to verify formatting changes. This shows exactly what changed between original and formatted versions. It helps you confirm that only spacing changed, not the actual code logic.

The tool has size limits to protect your browser. Files larger than 500 kilobytes, 10,000 lines, or lines longer than 1,000 characters are rejected. If your code is larger, consider splitting it into smaller files or processing it in parts.

Fix syntax errors before relying on formatted output. While the tool may format code with errors, the output may not be correct. Use syntax validation to catch problems early.

Be aware that formatting may change code structure slightly. Some formatting tools normalize spacing or line breaks. Always review formatted code to ensure it still works correctly.

Use AI analysis to understand complex code patterns. The analysis can help you learn or identify potential improvements. Keep in mind that AI analysis may take a moment to complete.

Save important code before formatting if you are unsure. While formatting is usually safe, having a backup ensures you can restore the original if needed. This is especially important for production code.

Use consistent formatting across your project. Format all code files the same way to maintain readability. This makes it easier for team members to read and understand code.

Be aware that some code may not format perfectly. Very complex structures or unusual syntax might not work as expected. Always review formatted code to ensure it looks correct.

The tool preserves code functionality while improving readability. Formatting only changes whitespace and structure, not logic. Your code should work exactly the same after formatting.

For very large code files, formatting may take a moment. Be patient and wait for processing to complete. The tool shows a processing indicator while it works.