XML Formatter
ConverterPretty-print and validate XML documents with custom indentation for readable configs, SOAP payloads and API response debugging and troubleshooting sessions.
About XML Formatter
XML copied from APIs or logs often arrives minified onto a single line and is hard to read. This tool formats (pretty-prints) and minifies XML locally in your browser, and validates that tags are properly closed and nested. Parse errors are pinpointed, and no data is uploaded — safe for messages with sensitive information. Tip: Bookmark this tool for quick access whenever you need format conversion. All processing happens locally in your browser — no data upload, so feel free to paste sensitive content.
How to Use
- Open the XML Formatter tool page
- Enter or paste your data into the input area
- View the real-time results and use the copy button to get the output
Use Cases
- Beautify API messages — Format single-line SOAP/XML responses into an indented hierarchy to locate nodes fast.
- Validate well-formedness — Check that tags are paired and attribute quotes are complete to avoid runtime parse errors.
- Reduce transfer size — Minify development-time formatted XML to a single line to cut bytes.
- Analyze logs — Expand XML fragments copied from logs to inspect issues level by level.
- Review configs — Format pom.xml, web.xml, and other configs for easier code review.
- Compare XML diffs — Format both sides of an XML diff side-by-side to spot structural changes in config or payload files.
- Strip comments — Minify XML to strip comments and whitespace, producing a compact payload for production messages.
FAQ
Can it validate against XML Schema (XSD)?
No. It only checks well-formedness — closed tags and correct nesting — not XSD/DTD-based validity.
How many spaces for indentation?
Two spaces by default, producing clean, consistent output suited to most styles.
Are CDATA sections damaged?
No. CDATA content is preserved verbatim, without escaping or line wrapping.
Why a format error?
Common causes: unclosed tags, missing attribute quotes, multiple root nodes, or unescaped special characters. The error gives a location.
Want JSON?
Use our XML to JSON tool.
Any browser compatibility requirements?
This tool works in all modern browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari). No plugins or extensions required.
Can I use it offline?
After initial load, most features work offline. The core logic runs entirely in your browser with no network dependency.
Comments
Comments are stored locally in your browser. Configure Giscus for cloud-based comments.