XML Formatter

Format, validate, and beautify XML documents. Minify XML and check for syntax errors.

XML Content

Indent Size

What It Does

XML Formatter (also called XML Beautifier) transforms minified or poorly formatted XML into readable, properly indented markup. This tool parses XML documents and restructures them with consistent indentation, line breaks, and spacing, making it easier to read complex hierarchical data. It's essential for debugging XML responses, reviewing configuration files, analyzing SOAP messages, and working with XML-based formats like SVG, RSS, and XSLT. The formatter takes compressed or messy XML and reformats it into a clean, hierarchical structure—it adds proper indentation (2 or 4 spaces per level), inserts line breaks after opening and closing tags, aligns attributes, preserves CDATA sections, maintains XML declarations and processing instructions, validates basic XML syntax, and optionally highlights syntax errors. The tool handles large XML files (up to several megabytes), supports XML namespaces, and can detect and report malformed markup.

Key Features:

Automatic indentation with configurable spacing (2 or 4 spaces)
Line break insertion after tags for readability
Attribute alignment and formatting options
CDATA section preservation without modification
XML declaration and processing instruction handling
Syntax validation with error reporting
Namespace support for complex XML schemas
Large file processing (multi-megabyte XML documents)

How To Use

Format messy XML in three steps. Paste your minified or unformatted XML into the input area, click "Format XML" to beautify it, and copy the properly indented result for easier reading and debugging.

Paste XML Content

Copy your XML from an API response, configuration file, database export, or any source, then paste it into the input text area. The XML can be minified (single line), poorly formatted (inconsistent indentation), or have mixed spacing. Include the full document from the XML declaration (<?xml version="1.0"?>) through the root closing tag.

Configure Formatting Options

Select your preferred indentation style: 2 spaces (compact, web standard) or 4 spaces (more readable for complex hierarchies). Choose whether to align attributes vertically (each on its own line) or keep them inline. Enable syntax validation to check for errors like unclosed tags or invalid characters.

Format and Review

Click "Format XML" to beautify the markup. The tool will parse the XML structure and apply consistent formatting throughout. Review the formatted output to verify proper hierarchy and indentation. If syntax errors are detected, they'll be highlighted with line numbers. Copy the formatted XML using the "Copy" button for use in your code editor or documentation.

Benefits

Improved Readability: Properly indented XML makes hierarchical structure obvious, reducing time spent understanding complex documents

Faster Debugging: Identify mismatched tags, incorrect nesting, and structural issues at a glance when XML is well-formatted

Code Review Efficiency: Formatted XML is easier to review in pull requests and documentation, improving team collaboration

SOAP Message Analysis: Quickly understand SOAP request/response structures when debugging web service integration

Configuration File Management: XML config files (Maven pom.xml, Android manifests, web.xml) are easier to edit when properly formatted

Data Validation: Formatting often reveals structural problems not visible in minified XML

Educational Use: Students learning XML benefit from seeing clear hierarchical structure

Use Cases

API Response Debugging

Format XML responses from SOAP APIs, REST services returning XML, or legacy web services. When API responses arrive minified or on a single line, paste them into the formatter to reveal the structure. This makes it easier to identify which elements contain the data you need, understand nested objects, and spot missing or unexpected fields. Formatted XML helps when writing XPath queries or XSLT transformations to extract specific values.

Configuration File Editing

Beautify XML configuration files for Maven (pom.xml), Gradle, Spring Framework, Android (AndroidManifest.xml), and other platforms. Before editing, format the file to understand the current structure. After making changes, format again to ensure consistent indentation. This is especially important when multiple developers work on the same config files—consistent formatting prevents unnecessary merge conflicts and makes diffs more readable.

Database XML Export Analysis

Format XML exports from databases like SQL Server (FOR XML clause), Oracle, or PostgreSQL. Database exports often come as single-line XML strings with hundreds or thousands of records. Format the export to analyze the schema structure, verify data integrity, identify missing fields, and prepare data for transformation into other formats like JSON or CSV. This is essential for database migration projects.

SVG and Vector Graphics Editing

Format SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) files which are XML-based. Before manually editing SVG code—adjusting paths, colors, or transformations—format the file to make the structure readable. This helps when optimizing SVGs for web use, debugging rendering issues, or combining multiple SVG files. Formatted SVG code is also easier to version control and code review.

RSS/Atom Feed Validation

Format RSS feeds, Atom feeds, and podcast XML to verify structure and debug syndication issues. Well-formatted feed XML makes it easy to spot missing required elements, verify proper channel/item nesting, check GUID uniqueness, and validate enclosure elements for podcasts. Use formatted XML when troubleshooting why feeds aren't being recognized by feed readers or podcast directories.

Frequently Asked Questions

1 What's the difference between XML formatting and validation?

XML formatting (beautifying) reorganizes the visual presentation without changing the content—it adds indentation, line breaks, and spacing for human readability. XML validation checks whether the XML is well-formed (proper syntax: matching tags, correct nesting, valid characters) and optionally schema-valid (conforms to XSD/DTD rules). This tool does formatting and basic well-formedness validation. It checks for syntax errors like unclosed tags but doesn't validate against specific schemas. For full schema validation, use an XSD validator. Think of formatting as "making it pretty" while validation is "checking if it's correct."

2 Will formatting change the meaning of my XML?

No, formatting only changes whitespace (spaces, tabs, line breaks) outside of element content. The data values, attributes, tag names, and structure remain identical. However, be careful with mixed content (text with embedded tags) and CDATA sections—formatters preserve these exactly as-is. Also, if your application relies on specific whitespace (rare), formatting might affect behavior. For example, if an element contains " text " (with leading/trailing spaces), those spaces are preserved. In general, XML processors ignore whitespace between tags, so formatting is safe for 99% of XML use cases. Always test after formatting if working with legacy systems.

3 Can this tool fix broken or invalid XML?

No, this formatter cannot repair invalid XML—it can only format well-formed XML. If your XML has syntax errors (unclosed tags, mismatched elements, invalid characters, missing quotes on attributes), the formatter will identify and report the errors but cannot automatically fix them. You must manually correct the errors first. Common unfixable issues include: unclosed tags like <item>content without </item>, mismatched tags like <open></close>, invalid characters in tag names, and missing XML declaration. Use the syntax validation feature to locate errors, then fix them in your source code or generator before reformatting.

4 Should I use 2-space or 4-space indentation?

Use 2-space indentation for web applications, front-end development, and deeply nested XML (more than 5 levels) to prevent excessive line length. Use 4-space indentation for backend services, configuration files, and XML documents with shallow nesting (3-4 levels) where clarity is more important than compactness. Many teams follow the same indentation as their primary language: if you use 2 spaces for JavaScript, use 2 for XML. For maximum compatibility, check your team's style guide or linter configuration. Some tools like Android Studio default to 4 spaces for XML layout files. Consistency matters more than the specific choice.

5 Is my XML data secure when using this tool?

Yes, this formatter runs entirely in your browser—no XML data is sent to any server. All parsing and formatting happens client-side using JavaScript. Your XML never leaves your device, making it safe for confidential data, API keys, customer information, or proprietary schemas. However, avoid pasting XML into online formatters that process data server-side, as that creates security risks. Always verify a tool processes data locally before using it with sensitive information. For maximum security with extremely sensitive XML (financial transactions, medical records), use offline tools or IDE extensions.

Related Tools

SQL Formatter

Format and beautify SQL queries. Make SQL readable with proper indentation and syntax highlighting.

What Is My IP

Find your public IP address and location information. See your ISP, timezone, coordinates, and network details instantly.

Find by IP

Look up location and network information for any IP address. Enter an IPv4 or IPv6 address to see geolocation, ISP, timezone, and network details.

Regex Tester

Test and debug regular expressions with real-time matching. Validate regex patterns with highlighting and explanations.

JWT Decoder

Decode and inspect JWT tokens. View header, payload, and signature of JSON Web Tokens for debugging.

Base64 / URL / HTML Entities

Encode and decode Base64, URL encoding, and HTML entities. All-in-one encoding tool for web development.