XML Formatter
XML FormatterFormat & Validate
About XML
XML (eXtensible Markup Language) is a markup language for storing and transporting data. It uses tags to define elements and is both human-readable and machine-readable. This tool helps you format, beautify, and validate XML documents while providing useful statistics about the document structure.
Related Tools
What is XML?
XML (eXtensible Markup Language) is a flexible text format for creating structured documents. Unlike HTML which has predefined tags, XML allows you to define your own custom tags to describe and organize data in a way that's both human-readable and machine-readable.
XML is widely used for configuration files, data exchange between systems, web services (SOAP), document formats (like DOCX and ODT), and many other applications where structured data needs to be stored or transmitted.
This free tool helps you format, beautify, and validate XML documents with real-time error detection. It provides detailed statistics about your document structure including element count, attribute count, and nesting depth.
Features
Format & Beautify
Transform minified XML into readable, properly indented format with customizable spacing.
Minify
Compress XML by removing unnecessary whitespace, reducing file size for production.
Real-time Validation
Instantly detect syntax errors like unclosed tags, mismatched elements, and invalid characters.
Comment Preservation
Choose to keep or remove XML comments during formatting for cleaner output.
Document Statistics
View element count, attribute count, text nodes, comments, and maximum nesting depth.
Declaration Handling
Properly preserves XML declarations and processing instructions.
XML Syntax Rules
Tags must be closed: Every opening tag must have a closing tag or use self-closing syntax.
Tags are case-sensitive: <Book> and <book> are different elements.
Proper nesting: Elements must be properly nested (close inner tags before outer tags).
Single root element: Every XML document must have exactly one root element.
Attribute values: Attribute values must always be quoted.
Special characters: Use entities like < > & for special characters in content.
Frequently Asked Questions
What causes XML parsing errors?
Common errors include unclosed tags, mismatched tag names, unquoted attribute values, multiple root elements, and unescaped special characters like < and & in text content.
What's the difference between XML and HTML?
XML is stricter than HTML - all tags must be closed, properly nested, and case-sensitive. XML allows custom tags for any purpose, while HTML has predefined tags for web pages. XML focuses on data, HTML focuses on presentation.
Why should I minify XML?
Minifying XML removes unnecessary whitespace and can reduce file size by 20-40%. This is beneficial for web services and APIs where bandwidth and parsing speed matter.
Is my data secure?
Yes. All processing happens entirely in your browser using JavaScript. Your XML data never leaves your device and is not sent to any server, ensuring complete privacy.