XML Formatter - Beautify & Check

Overview

Format and check your XML — privately

Direct answer: An XML formatter re-indents XML by nesting depth so the structure is readable, and checks that it is well-formed — reporting the first parse error with its line and column. Paste your XML on the left and the formatted result appears on the right; switch the output between Formatted, Tree and Minified, and pick 2 spaces, 4 spaces or a tab. It runs entirely in your browser, so your XML is never uploaded, and it preserves CDATA, comments, processing instructions and whitespace inside xml:space="preserve".

XML shows up in SOAP responses, RSS feeds, config files, and data exports — often minified or awkwardly wrapped. An XML formatter makes it readable: it indents each element according to its nesting depth, adds line breaks, and highlights the syntax, so the document's structure is clear. At the same time it checks well-formedness, telling you if the XML fails to parse and pointing to the first error.

Paste your XML, or use Open file to read a local .xml off your disk, then set the indent to 2 spaces, 4 spaces or a tab. The tool reformats and checks as you type. The output switches between Formatted, a collapsible tree you can expand and collapse to navigate a large document, and Minified; Copy and Download both take whichever of the three is on screen. It preserves CDATA sections, comments, processing instructions, attribute order, and whitespace inside xml:space="preserve", so reformatting never changes what the document means — and it keeps your own XML declaration rather than writing one of its own.

Privacy is the throughline. Everything happens in your browser — no server, no upload, no logging, no tracking. XML frequently carries API payloads and config data; here it never leaves your device, and the tool works offline once loaded.

One important honesty point: this tool checks that your XML is well-formed (it parses correctly — tags matched and nested properly), not whether it's valid against a DTD or XSD schema. Well-formedness is about syntax; validity is about conforming to a defined structure with specific elements, types, and rules. A document can be perfectly well-formed but invalid against a schema. For schema validation, you'll need a dedicated DTD/XSD validator; this tool focuses on formatting and well-formedness.

For related tools, see the JSON Formatter, HTML Formatter, and Excel to XML.

The XML Formatter in dark mode: a book catalogue in the cyan Input XML pane on the left with numbered lines, the same document re-indented in the magenta Formatted output pane on the right, and a green Valid XML pill reading 8 elements, 12 lines, 407 B — Input on the left, formatted output on the right — cyan is what you pasted, magenta is what the tool made of it

Use cases

When an XML formatter helps

Reading SOAP/API XML. Turn a one-line response into readable structure.
Debugging feeds. Spot where an RSS/Atom or config file breaks.
Exploring documents. Collapse and expand deep XML in a tree.
Tidying exports. Clean up minified XML data dumps.
Sensitive payloads. Format private XML without uploading it.

Guide

How to format XML

Paste or load your XML

Step 1: Type or paste into the cyan Input XML pane, or press Open file and pick a local .xml — the browser's FileReader hands the text straight to the page and no request is made. Sample loads a small catalogue if you just want to see the tool work; Clear empties the editor.

Choose your indentation

Step 2: Set Indent in the bar to 2 spaces, 4 spaces or a tab. Indentation is cosmetic — it changes nothing about the data — so pick whatever your project uses. The Tab key in the editor inserts the same thing you picked.

Format and check

Step 3: There is no button to press. The tool re-parses about a fifth of a second after you stop typing, indents by nesting depth, and the pill under the panes reads Valid XML or Not well-formed beside the element, line and byte counts. On a failure the line is dotted in the gutter and the panel below names the problem — click the entry to jump to it.

Explore the tree

Step 4: Switch the output to Tree and each element becomes a node you can collapse, which is the quickest way through a deep SOAP response or a long config. It is read-only navigation; your XML is untouched. Minified strips the whitespace between elements for the same document on one line.

Copy or download

Step 5: Copy and Download both take whichever view is on screen — Download saves formatted.xml or minified.xml, built from a blob in the page. Nothing is sent anywhere at any point. The expand button at the end of the bar gives the workspace the whole window when a document is wide.

Realistic example

Paste <note><to>Dev</to><body>Hi</body></note> and it becomes a neatly indented document with each element on its own line — and the tree view lets you collapse body to focus elsewhere.

Advanced tip

If well-formedness fails, look for mismatched or unclosed tags, an undeclared entity, or a stray </& — the reported location points you to it.

Common mistake to avoid

Well-formed isn't the same as valid. Passing the well-formedness check doesn't mean your XML matches its schema.

For JSON instead, use the JSON Formatter.

The same catalogue shown as a collapsible tree: each element is a node with a minus toggle beside it, attributes in amber and text values in green, nested one indent level per depth — Tree view — collapse the elements you are not reading and drill into the ones you are

Good to know

What to keep in mind

Nothing leaves your device. Parsing and formatting run in your browser — nothing uploaded, logged, or tracked, and it works offline once the page has loaded.
Well-formed, not valid. It checks the XML parses correctly, not whether it conforms to a DTD/XSD schema.
Cosmetic and safe. It adds indentation between elements but preserves CDATA, comments, attributes, and significant whitespace.
Not a schema validator or XSLT engine. For DTD/XSD validation or transforms, use dedicated tools.
Large files run locally. Very big XML is limited by your device, since there's no server.

The formatter on XML with a mistyped closing tag: line 5 carries a red dot in the gutter, the status pill reads Not well-formed with 0 elements, the output pane says to fix the syntax error, and the panel below reads Line 5, col 11 — Opening and ending tag mismatch: book line 3 and boook — A mistyped closing tag: the line is dotted in the gutter and the panel names the mismatch and where it starts

The XML Formatter on a phone screen: the Formatted, Tree and Minified control across the top with the indent buttons under it, then Input XML and Output as two tabs with Output selected, showing the formatted catalogue — On a phone the two panes become tabs, and the output keeps the full width

Support

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I format (beautify) XML?

Paste your XML (or load a local file), choose an indentation of 2 spaces, 4 spaces, or a tab, and the tool re-indents each element according to its nesting depth, adds line breaks, and highlights the syntax. A minified or messy document becomes a clear, readable structure. Then copy or download the result — nothing leaves your browser.

Does this upload my XML, and does it work offline?

No upload, and yes it works offline. All parsing and formatting happen in your browser using JavaScript — there's no server receiving your document, no logging, and no tracking. That makes it safe for API payloads and config data. Once the page has loaded it keeps working with no internet connection, which you can confirm in your browser's network tab.

How do I check if my XML is well-formed?

Just paste it — the formatter parses your XML as it formats, and if it isn't well-formed it shows the first parse error with its location. Well-formed means the syntax is correct: every tag is closed and properly nested, attributes are quoted, and special characters are escaped. The error message points you to whatever breaks parsing, such as a mismatched tag.

What's the difference between well-formed and valid XML?

Well-formed means the XML follows basic syntax rules — matched, properly nested tags and quoted attributes — so it parses. Valid means it also conforms to a schema (a DTD or XSD) that defines which elements, attributes, and structures are allowed. All valid XML is well-formed, but well-formed XML can still be invalid against a schema. This tool checks well-formedness, not schema validity.

Does it validate against a DTD or XSD schema?

No. It checks that your XML is well-formed (parses correctly), but it doesn't validate against a DTD or XSD schema — it won't confirm that the right elements appear in the right order with the right types. Schema validation is a separate job that needs the schema itself. For that, use a dedicated DTD/XSD validator; use this tool for formatting and a quick well-formedness check.

Does formatting change my XML's meaning?

No. The formatter adds indentation and line breaks between elements — whitespace that XML processors generally ignore — so the data is unchanged. It carefully preserves the parts where whitespace does matter: CDATA sections, the contents of elements marked xml:space="preserve", comments, and attribute values. So the formatted document represents exactly the same information as the original.

Does it preserve CDATA, comments, and attributes?

Yes. CDATA sections (which hold raw text like embedded code), comments, processing instructions, and attributes are all preserved exactly, including attribute order. Reformatting only affects the whitespace between elements. This means you can safely beautify XML that contains CDATA-wrapped scripts or important comments without losing or altering any of it.

What indentation should I use?

It's a style choice. 2 spaces keeps documents compact; 4 spaces is more spread out and can be easier to read for deeply nested XML; a tab lets each viewer set its own width. Indentation is purely cosmetic and doesn't affect the data, so pick whatever matches your project's conventions. You can reformat with a different setting anytime.

Can I explore XML as a tree?

Yes. The tree view renders your XML as expandable nodes, so you can collapse elements you don't need and drill into the ones you do — much easier than scrolling a large formatted document. It's read-only navigation that reflects the structure; your underlying XML stays exactly as you entered it. This is especially handy for deep SOAP responses or config files.

Can I load an XML file instead of pasting?

Yes. You can open a local .xml file and the tool reads it directly in your browser with the FileReader API — the contents load into the editor without being uploaded anywhere. This is convenient for larger documents or ones you'd rather not copy and paste, and it's exactly as private as pasting the XML by hand.

Can it format very large XML?

Usually yes. Because it runs locally, the limit is your device's memory and CPU rather than a server cap, and modern browsers handle large documents well. Very large files (tens of megabytes) can be slow, especially rendering the tree view, but there's no upload size limit from us and nothing is sent anywhere — it's purely a matter of local performance.

Is it free, and are there limits?

Yes, completely free — no payment, no signup, no account, and no usage caps or watermarks. Since everything runs in your browser, there's nothing for us to meter; the only practical limit is your device's performance on very large documents. Use it as much as you like, including offline once the page has loaded.

Still have questions?

If you can't find the answer you're looking for, feel free to contact our support team.

XML Formatter & Validator

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