JSX looks like HTML but is technically JavaScript, and the difference shows up the moment you try to format JSX with an HTML formatter.
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Treats PascalCase components as block elements
Preserves curly-brace expressions exactly
Handles self-closing custom components
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JSX is a syntax extension for JavaScript that lets you write HTML-like markup directly inside your JavaScript code. The Babel compiler or the SWC compiler then translates JSX into plain JavaScript function calls that produce React elements at runtime. The HTML-like appearance is convenient because it matches the mental model developers already have for markup, but the underlying form is JavaScript, which means JSX has features that plain HTML does not: capital-letter component names that reference JavaScript identifiers, attribute values that can be JavaScript expressions wrapped in curly braces, self-closing tags for elements with no children, and embedded conditional or loop expressions that render different markup based on runtime state. A formatter that treats JSX as plain HTML mishandles these features in predictable ways.
FixTools formats JSX by recognising PascalCase tag names as components, preserving curly-brace expressions verbatim including any nested JSX inside them, keeping self-closing slashes in their original position, and applying depth-based indentation based on tag nesting regardless of whether the tags are HTML elements or React components. The result is JSX that has the structural clarity of formatted HTML while remaining valid JSX that compiles correctly. The formatter does not parse the JavaScript inside curly braces, which is the correct conservative approach because parsing arbitrary JavaScript would require a full JavaScript parser and would introduce a category of bugs around dynamic content that is irrelevant to the formatting goal.
For committed source code in a React project, Prettier is the right formatter because it has full JavaScript and JSX support and understands all the framework-specific edge cases. FixTools is better for ad-hoc JSX formatting outside the project context: snippets pasted from chat, code examples from blog posts, compressed JSX from build artifacts, or one-off components you want to read before committing. The two tools cover different scenarios without conflict, and using each for what it is designed for produces better results than trying to use one tool everywhere.
One specific behaviour worth understanding is how the formatter handles fragments. React fragments expressed as empty angle brackets are treated as opening and closing tags of an anonymous container, which means the formatter applies depth-based indentation to fragment children just as it would for any other parent element. Fragments expressed as React.Fragment with explicit naming are treated as named component tags. Both forms format cleanly without any special configuration. If you mix the two forms in the same file, the output is consistent within each form because the formatter recognises both as parent containers.
Paste your JSX and click Format. The output panel shows the JSX with clean depth-based indentation while keeping component names, expressions, and self-closing tags exactly as written.
Step-by-step guide to format react jsx as html:
Paste your JSX
Paste any JSX into the input panel. The formatter recognises PascalCase component tags and preserves curly-brace expressions automatically.
Click Format
Click Format to apply depth-based indentation to the JSX structure while keeping component names, expressions, and self-closing tags intact.
Copy back to your editor
Copy the formatted JSX back to your editor. The output is valid JSX that compiles identically to the input you pasted, with only whitespace differences.
Common situations where this approach makes a real difference:
Reading a JSX snippet from a Stack Overflow answer
A developer pastes a JSX snippet from a Stack Overflow answer into FixTools to format it before adapting it for their project. The formatted version reveals the component nesting clearly, which the original compressed answer obscured. The adaptation takes minutes once the structure is visible.
Auditing a third-party React component library
A team auditing a third-party React component library formats the bundled JSX output to understand the component structure. The formatted output reveals architectural patterns the library uses, which informs the decision about whether to adopt the library or build a custom alternative.
Code review of a large JSX file
A reviewer formats a large compressed JSX file before reviewing the pull request that changed it. The formatted version makes the structural changes obvious, while the compressed diff would have buried the meaningful changes inside formatting noise. The review completes in a fraction of the time it would have taken against the compressed source.
Teaching JSX to a new team member
A senior engineer formats several core JSX components from the codebase to walk a new team member through the component architecture. The formatted versions communicate the structural patterns clearly, which would have been invisible in the original compressed source that the new team member would otherwise have struggled with.
Use this when you have JSX code that needs readable indentation for review or analysis, particularly snippets from chat, blog posts, or compressed component files.
Get better results with these expert suggestions:
Use formatted JSX for documentation generation
When generating documentation for a React component library, format each component example with FixTools before including it in the docs site. The formatted version is much easier to read than the compressed source, and the docs become more useful as a reference because readers can immediately see the component structure. Auto-generated docs from compressed source frequently appear less polished even when the underlying API is well-designed, because the reading experience drives perception of quality.
Format JSX from build artifacts to debug SSR output
When debugging React server-side rendering, capture the JSX-like output from your SSR pipeline and format it to see the exact structure being sent to the client. Format the corresponding client-rendered HTML and diff the two to find hydration mismatches, which are otherwise extremely difficult to debug. The diff between formatted SSR output and formatted client DOM is the most informative single piece of evidence for SSR bugs.
Treat formatted JSX as the canonical reference for component shape
When discussing component structure with a designer or product manager, share the formatted JSX rather than the compressed source. The formatted version communicates the component shape clearly to people who do not read React fluently, because the structure resembles indented HTML which most stakeholders recognise. This makes design and product conversations more concrete and reduces the gap between what engineering builds and what other functions see.
Format JSX before pasting into a learning resource
When writing a tutorial, blog post, or course material that includes JSX examples, format the examples in FixTools before publishing. Compressed JSX in a learning resource is a major barrier for learners, who spend their cognitive budget decoding the source rather than learning the concept the example is meant to teach. Formatted examples lower the barrier and produce noticeably better learning outcomes.
Use Prettier for committed JSX
For committed React code, Prettier is the right tool because it understands JSX fully. FixTools is better for ad-hoc snippets and quick reads.
Format before pasting into a code review comment
When citing a JSX snippet in a code review comment, format it first so reviewers can follow your reasoning without manually decoding the source.
Preserve curly-brace expressions exactly
Do not edit curly-brace expressions in the formatted output without understanding what they reference. The formatter preserves them as opaque text for a reason.
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