PHP formatter
What is a PHP Formatter?
A PHP Formatter is a tool that automatically restructures and cleans up PHP source code to make it more readable and consistent — without changing what the code actually does. It handles things like indentation, brace placement, spacing around operators, and array formatting, so you don’t have to do it manually.
Why should you format your PHP code?
Consistent formatting makes code far easier to read, review, and maintain — both for you and for teammates. It reduces cognitive load when scanning a file, makes diffs in version control cleaner, and helps catch structural issues (like mismatched braces) at a glance. Most professional PHP projects follow a standard like PSR-2 or PSR-12 precisely for these reasons.
What are the buttons used for?
Format PHP — runs the formatter against whatever is in the input panel and renders the result on the right with optional syntax highlighting. You can also trigger it with Ctrl/⌘ + Enter.
Copy — copies the formatted output to your clipboard so you can paste it straight back into your editor.
Clear — wipes both panels and resets all stats, ready for a fresh snippet.
Can the PHP Formatter handle large files?
Since everything runs in your browser using JavaScript, performance depends on your device. It handles typical PHP files — a few hundred to a few thousand lines — comfortably. Very large files (tens of thousands of lines) may be slower, and for those you’d be better served by a CLI tool like PHP-CS-Fixer or a full IDE integration.
How does the PHP Formatter tool work?
When you click Format, the tool tokenises your input to identify strings, comments, and code separately (so it doesn’t accidentally mangle string contents), then re-indents the code based on brace depth, applies your chosen brace style, optionally aligns fat arrows in arrays, adds trailing commas, and runs a syntax highlighter over the output. Everything happens client-side — nothing is ever sent to a server.
Is the PHP Formatter Tool Free?
Yes, completely. There’s no account, no usage limit, no tracking, and no cost. It’s a single self-contained HTML file that runs entirely offline in your browser.
