Why this tool is useful
Use this tool to standardize pasted code, Makefiles, terminal snippets or documentation without deleting meaningful spaces inside the line.
Text & List Tools · runs locally
Tabs and Spaces Converter
Expand tab stops to spaces or compress leading indentation into tabs with an explicit width and preserved content after indentation.
Ready. Your working data stays in this browser.
How it works
Expansion follows real tab stops rather than replacing every tab with a fixed count. Compression affects leading full-width indentation groups only.
Practical example
With width four, a leading tab becomes four spaces; eight leading spaces become two tabs in the reverse direction.
Validation
The calculation is deterministic and explains validation errors instead of silently changing invalid input.
Privacy boundary
Input and output remain in this tab. Copy and download happen through browser APIs without a server upload.
Result passport
Every run reports its tool mode, timestamp and input/output size so transformed data can be audited.