XML Formatter & Validator
Beautify, minify and validate XML with syntax highlighting β directly in your browser.
What is an XML Formatter?
An XML formatter takes raw or minified XML and re-indents it into a clean, readable structure. XML (Extensible Markup Language) is used extensively in web services (SOAP APIs), configuration files (Maven, Android manifests, Spring), data exchange, RSS/Atom feeds, Microsoft Office documents, and many legacy enterprise systems. Well-structured XML is much easier to read and debug, but the real-world data you receive β from APIs, log files, or generated output β is often compacted onto a single line.
This tool beautifies XML by applying consistent indentation and line breaks, making nested elements easy to follow. It also validates your XML using the browser's native DOM parser, flagging syntax errors with a clear description. The Minify mode strips all whitespace to produce the smallest possible output, useful before embedding XML in JSON payloads or HTTP requests.
All processing runs locally in your browser β your XML is never sent to any server.
How to Use
- Paste your XML into the left panel, or click Sample to load an example.
- The formatted output with syntax highlighting appears instantly on the right.
- Switch to Minify mode to collapse the XML to a single compact line.
- Click Copy to copy the result, or β¬ to download it as a
.xmlfile.
Frequently Asked Questions
<tag> needs a </tag> or must be self-closing like <tag />), unescaped special characters (use & for &, < for <), multiple root elements (XML requires exactly one), and invalid characters in tag names. Check the error message for the exact line and column.