Don't like ads? Go Ad-Free Today 

INI File Formatter & Beautifier

Developer

ADVERTISEMENT · REMOVE?

INPUT

Auto Process

OUTPUT

Client Side

Formatted Output

▶ INI File Format Reference

INI (Initialization) files are simple configuration files used by many applications and operating systems.

Sections

Sections group related settings: [section_name]. Keys before any section header are considered global.

Key-Value Pairs

Settings are defined as key = value or key=value. Values can optionally be quoted: key = "value with spaces".

Comments

Lines starting with ; or # are comments. Some parsers also support inline comments after values.

Common Uses

php.ini — PHP configuration
my.cnf / my.ini — MySQL configuration
.gitconfig — Git configuration
desktop.ini — Windows folder settings
setup.cfg / tox.ini — Python project configuration
php-fpm.conf — PHP-FPM pool configuration

ADVERTISEMENT · REMOVE?

Guide

INI File Formatter & Beautifier

Format and beautify INI configuration files with consistent spacing, value alignment, section sorting, and comment normalization. Paste your INI content and instantly see formatted output with validation warnings for common issues. Download as .ini or .cfg file.

How to Use

Paste your INI file content into the input area. The formatter processes it instantly with your chosen options: spacing around equals signs, blank lines between sections, alphabetical sorting of keys and sections, comment style normalization, value alignment, and more. View the formatted output, structure overview, and any validation warnings. Copy the result or download as .ini or .cfg file.

Features

Value Alignment — Align all equals signs to the same column within each section for maximum readability. Transforms messy key=value pairs into clean, aligned configuration.
Spacing Options — Choose between spaced (key = value) and compact (key=value) formatting around equals signs.
Section & Key Sorting — Optionally sort sections alphabetically and/or sort keys within each section. Great for standardizing configuration files across environments.
Comment Normalization — Preserve original comment style, or normalize all comments to # or ; prefix for consistency.
Structure View — Tree/outline view showing sections as top-level nodes with key-value pairs indented underneath. Includes section count, key count, and comment count per section.
Validation Warnings — Detects duplicate keys within sections, keys outside any section (global keys), empty sections, and unparseable lines.
Additional Options — Blank lines between sections, trim trailing whitespace, remove inline comments, remove duplicate keys (keep last occurrence).
Export — Copy formatted output, download as .ini file, or download as .cfg file.

INI File Format

INI files use a simple structure: [section] headers group related settings, key=value pairs store configuration values, and # or ; prefixes mark comments. This format is used by php.ini, my.cnf (MySQL), Windows configuration files, Git config (.gitconfig), Python’s configparser, and many application settings files.

ADVERTISEMENT · REMOVE?

What is an INI file?

An INI (initialization) file is a simple text-based configuration format used by many applications and operating systems. It organizes settings into sections marked with [brackets], with key=value pairs under each section. Comments start with # or ; characters. INI files are human-readable, easy to edit, and widely supported — used by PHP (php.ini), MySQL (my.cnf), Windows applications, Git (.gitconfig), Python’s configparser module, and countless other tools.

Should I use # or ; for comments in INI files?

Both are valid, but the convention depends on the application. PHP’s php.ini uses ; for comments. Many Unix/Linux tools prefer #. Windows INI files traditionally use ;. The most important thing is consistency within a single file. This formatter can normalize all comments to either style, ensuring your file follows a single convention regardless of how it was originally written.

What does value alignment do?

Value alignment lines up all the equals signs within a section to the same column position. Instead of misaligned key=value pairs, you get clean columns where every equals sign is at the same position. This makes configuration files significantly more readable, especially when scanning through many key-value pairs. It’s purely cosmetic — the functionality is identical.

Is my configuration data sent to a server?

No — all formatting and validation happens in your browser using JavaScript. Your INI file content never leaves your device. This is important because configuration files often contain sensitive settings: database credentials, API keys, internal paths, and server addresses. All processing runs entirely client-side with no API calls or data storage.

Want To enjoy an ad-free experience? Go Ad-Free Today

