XML Formatter
Format and indent XML documents. Validate XML syntax and structure.
How to use
- 1 Paste your XML string into the input area.
- 2 Click Format to pretty-print it with proper indentation for readability.
- 3 Click Minify to compress it for transmission or storage.
- 4 Click Copy to grab the result.
Key features
- Pretty-prints XML with proper indentation
- Validates XML structure and reports parse errors
- Minify mode for compact storage or transmission
- Handles namespaces, attributes, and CDATA sections
XML Formatting
XML (eXtensible Markup Language) is a hierarchical, text-based format for structured data, defined by the W3C in 1998. Unlike JSON, XML supports attributes, namespaces, and a strict schema system (XSD). XML passed through APIs, web services, or data pipelines is often serialized on a single line with no whitespace — technically valid, but impossible to read without formatting.
A properly formatted XML document has each element on its own line with consistent indentation that reflects the hierarchy. Formatters also help identify structural problems — unclosed tags, mismatched nesting, or malformed attribute syntax — that cause XML parsers to reject the document entirely.
Common Use Cases
SOAP web services
SOAP requests and responses are XML. Format them to read the envelope, header, and body structure while debugging a web service.
Maven and Gradle POM files
Java project configuration (pom.xml) is XML. Format and review dependency trees or plugin configurations.
RSS and Atom feeds
RSS/Atom feeds are XML. Format them to inspect channel metadata, item structure, or pubDate formatting.
SVG inspection
SVG files are XML. Format them to view the path data, group structure, and transform attributes of vector graphics.
Enterprise integrations (EDI, XBRL)
Financial reporting (XBRL), electronic data interchange (EDI), and healthcare (HL7) still rely on XML extensively.
Android resources and manifests
Android's layout files, strings.xml, and AndroidManifest.xml are all XML — format them for readability during development.
XML Still in Active Use
JSON may have replaced XML in REST APIs, but XML remains dominant in several areas.
Microsoft Office formats
DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX files are zipped archives containing XML. Office Open XML is one of the most widely used XML-based formats in the world.
XHTML and SVG
SVG (used in web graphics) and XHTML are XML-based. Inline SVGs in HTML documents must be well-formed XML.
Healthcare and government standards
HL7 FHIR, CDA (clinical notes), and numerous government data exchange standards use XML as their canonical format.
AWS CloudFormation and Azure ARM
AWS CloudFormation supports XML-like syntax via YAML/JSON, and older Azure Resource Manager templates used XML extensively.