js-beautify
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Use it free for quick browser cleanup, CLI batch formatting, or unpacking packed scripts.
New check
Comparison
js-beautify vs Prettier
js-beautify lands on Depends, and Prettier lands on Worth it.
Prettier
Worth it
Confidence: High
If your team writes JavaScript/TypeScript and wants style debates gone, Prettier is the free de facto standard.
| Compare | js-beautify | Prettier |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Worth it |
| Best for | Quick paste-in cleanup of minified code | JS/TS teams tired of style debates |
| Who it's not for | Everyday formatting . Prettier and VS Code do it better | Speed-critical repos . Biome formats far faster |
| Privacy | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.11 | Core prettier package unaffected, but two ecosystem plugins (eslint-config-prettier, eslint-plugin-prettier) were compromised via npm in July 2025 (CVE-2025-54313); fixed versions shipped. |
| Support quality | Explicitly no uptime or support guarantees | Community-maintained OSS; no support evidence found. |
| Public sentiment | Hobbyist developers like it for quick cleanup, but many now steer toward Prettier and VS Code for everyday formatting.⁷ | Sentiment favors consistency and ending debates, with recurring complaints about speed, rigid style, and a minority switching to lighter tools. |
| Biggest gotcha | Zero support: free software, no SLAs . fixes depend on volunteer maintainers⁴ | CVE-2025-54313: eslint-config-prettier hijacked July 2025; only 10.1.6+ is safe . audit lockfiles. |
Pick js-beautify when
- Quick paste-in cleanup of minified code
- Devs wanting CLI or Python formatting
- Unpacking Dean Edwards-packed bookmarklets
- Embedding a formatter library via CDN
When js-beautify is not a fit
- Everyday formatting . Prettier and VS Code do it better
- Teams wanting consistent, enforced code style
- Anyone needing support, SLAs, or security guarantees
- Non-developers . it is a dev tool, not a service
Pick Prettier when
- JS/TS teams tired of style debates
- Large codebases needing one enforced style
- Mixed-language repos via plugins
- VS Code users wanting format-on-save
When Prettier is not a fit
- Speed-critical repos . Biome formats far faster
- Teams folding formatting into ESLint stylistic rules
- Devs wanting per-developer custom styles . it's opinionated by design
- Teams still running compromised pre-10.1.6 plugin versions
Sources
- Online JavaScript beautifier (official site)beautifier.ioofficial
- JS Beautifier on GitHubgithub.comofficial
- js-beautify on npmnpmjs.comofficial
- js-beautify on Yarn (changelog, support terms)classic.yarnpkg.comofficial
- js-beautify on cdnjscdnjs.comofficial
review
- Reddit: Excellent Javascript Beautifierreddit.comreview
- Stack Overflow: js-beautify isn't correctly formatting simple htmlstackoverflow.comreview
- Reddit: JS-beautify broke the internetreddit.comreview
- Snyk: js-beautify vulnerability pagesecurity.snyk.iosecurity
- beautifier.io/security (404)beautifier.iosecurity
- Prettier · Opinionated Code Formatterprettier.ioofficial
- prettier on npmnpmjs.comofficial
- Prettier Rationaleprettier.ioofficial
- Prettier - Code formatter (VS Code)marketplace.visualstudio.comofficial