How to use TypeScript Formatter online, free

This re-indents TypeScript or JavaScript by tracking braces and statement ends, giving each nesting level consistent indentation and putting every statement on its own line. That is the change that makes a minified or badly pasted file readable again, and it is enough to review code you have been handed in a chat message or a bug report. It is worth being clear about what it is not: it does not re-wrap long lines at a print width, normalise your quotes, or add trailing commas the way Prettier does. Prettier discards your formatting entirely and re-prints from a parsed syntax tree; this works on the text you give it. For a project you own, configure Prettier in the repo so formatting is enforced for everyone. Use this for the code you cannot easily run a formatter over. Strings, template literals and comments are tracked properly, so braces and semicolons inside them are left alone - and everything happens in your browser, which matters when the snippet came from a private codebase.

You should not have to open an IDE to format a snippet from Slack, tidy a JSON blob, or check a hash. Paste it here, copy the result, move on.

TypeScript Formatter is a good fit when reading a minified bundle well enough to find the failing function.

Why this exists

TypeScript Formatter is built around a few practical wins, not a long feature list:

• Makes minified or badly indented code readable in one step.
• Handles strings, template literals and comments correctly, so their contents are never reformatted.
• Works on plain JavaScript as well, since TypeScript is a superset of it.
• Runs entirely in your browser - proprietary code is never transmitted.
• No install, no config file, no account.

Walkthrough

1. Paste your TypeScript or JavaScript. Minified, badly indented, or pasted out of a chat window - all are fine.
2. Choose Format or Minify. Format re-indents for reading. Minify strips comments and extra whitespace.
3. Set your indent size. Two spaces is the TypeScript convention; four is common in other codebases.
4. Copy or download the result. Then paste it into your editor, where your real formatter can take over.

Jobs it is built for

• Reading a minified bundle well enough to find the failing function.
• Cleaning up a snippet pasted from Slack or a GitHub issue before reviewing it.
• Formatting code on a machine where you cannot install Node and Prettier.
• Tidying a quick example before pasting it into documentation.
• Stripping comments from a snippet you are about to share publicly.

Worth knowing before you start

• For any repository you control, add Prettier and a format-on-save hook. A tool you have to remember to visit will never keep a codebase consistent.
• Use two-space indentation for TypeScript unless your project says otherwise - it is the ecosystem default and keeps diffs small.
• After formatting a minified bundle, use your editor's "go to line" to reach the point named in the stack trace.
• The minify mode strips comments but does not rename anything, so the output stays debuggable - it is not a substitute for esbuild or Terser in a build.
• Run the result through your compiler afterwards. Formatting cannot introduce type errors, but it also cannot tell you about the ones already there.

What not to expect

• Expecting Prettier's output. This re-indents your text; it does not re-print from a syntax tree, so long lines stay long and quote style is untouched.
• Treating minify mode as a build step - it removes comments and whitespace but does not rename identifiers, so the size saving is small.
• Assuming formatting validates the code. Syntactically broken input is re-indented, not rejected.
• Using it instead of a repo formatter config, which leaves the codebase inconsistent between contributors.
• Pasting a whole large bundle and expecting instant results - very large inputs take a moment because every character is scanned.

Privacy, in one paragraph

TypeScript Formatter runs in your browser. The file or text you paste stays on your device. There is no account, and nothing is stored on a ToolBox server for this job.

Related tools worth opening next

If this is one step in a longer job, these usually come after it:

• JavaScript Beautifier - Format messy or minified JavaScript into clean readable code
• JavaScript Minifier / Beautifier - Minify or beautify JavaScript code
• JSON Formatter - Format and validate JSON data

Short answers

Does formatting change how my code behaves?

No. Only whitespace, indentation and line breaks change. Logic, types and behaviour are identical, and string and template-literal contents are left exactly as they were.

How is this different from Prettier?

Prettier parses your code into a syntax tree, throws your formatting away and re-prints it - which is why it can re-wrap long lines and normalise quotes. This works on the text directly, fixing indentation and statement breaks. Use Prettier in projects you control; use this for code you have merely been handed.

Does it check for TypeScript type errors?

No. It never parses types. Run tsc or your IDE for type checking - formatting and type checking are separate jobs.

Can I use it on plain JavaScript?

Yes. TypeScript is a superset of JavaScript, and the formatter works on braces and semicolons, so JavaScript, JSX and JSON all re-indent correctly.

Is my code uploaded to a server?

No. It is processed in your browser, which is the point for anyone pasting code from a private or client codebase.

What does Minify actually remove?

Comments and redundant whitespace. It does not shorten variable names or restructure code, so the output remains readable and safe - a real minifier in your build pipeline will always produce a much smaller file.

Open the TypeScript Formatter when you are ready. It is free, and you do not need an account.