Syntax Highlighting
Color-coded XML output distinguishes tags, attributes, values, comments, CDATA sections, and processing instructions for instant readability.
Input XML
Output (Formatted)
About This Tool
What Is an XML Formatter?
An XML Formatter — also called an XML Beautifier or XML Pretty Printer — is a developer utility that transforms raw, compressed, or poorly indented XML code into a clean, readable structure with consistent indentation and line breaks. XML (eXtensible Markup Language) powers data exchange between APIs, configuration files, RSS feeds, SOAP services, sitemaps, and countless enterprise systems. Unfortunately, XML produced by machines is often a single, unreadable line. Our free online XML formatter instantly beautifies that output so you can inspect, debug, and edit it effortlessly.
Beyond formatting, this tool validates XML in real time, catching unclosed tags, missing declarations, and malformed attributes before they cause runtime errors. You can choose your preferred indent size (2 spaces, 4 spaces, or tabs), minify XML to reduce payload size for APIs, or download the result as a clean .xml file. Best practices include always declaring the XML version and encoding (<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>), using meaningful tag names, and validating against a schema (XSD or DTD). This tool helps you follow every one of those best practices.
Features
Everything You Need to Work With XML
A complete XML toolkit built for developers, data engineers, and QA testers.
Real-time Validation
Detects malformed XML instantly — unclosed tags, mismatched brackets, invalid characters, missing quotes — with clear error messages.
Custom Indentation
Choose 2-space, 4-space, or tab indentation to match your team's coding style guide and keep diffs clean.
XML Minifier
Strip all unnecessary whitespace and comments to reduce XML payload size — ideal for API responses and production deployments.
File Upload & Download
Upload any .xml file directly from your device and download the formatted result with one click.
Live Statistics
See character count, line count, total XML nodes, and attribute count update in real time as you type or paste content.
100% Private
All processing happens entirely in your browser. Your XML data is never sent to any server — perfect for confidential configs and API payloads.
Clipboard Integration
Paste directly from clipboard or copy the formatted output with a single click — no keyboard shortcuts needed.
How It Works
Format XML in 3 Simple Steps
No installation, no login. Works entirely in your browser.
Paste or Upload XML
Paste raw XML into the input panel, upload a .xml file from your device, or click "Sample" to load an example.
Choose Format Options
Select your preferred indentation style, then click Beautify to format or Minify to compress. Hit Validate to check for errors.
Copy or Download
Copy the formatted XML to your clipboard or download it as a .xml file — ready to use in your project.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
An XML Formatter (or XML Beautifier) reformats raw or minified XML code with proper indentation and line breaks, making it human-readable. It's essential for debugging API responses, editing configuration files, and inspecting SOAP payloads or RSS feeds.
Yes, 100% free with no registration, no watermarks, and no usage limits. All features including beautify, minify, validate, file upload, and download are completely free.
Yes. The tool uses the browser's built-in DOMParser to validate XML and reports any syntax errors — including line and column numbers — as soon as you click Validate or Beautify.
Absolutely. All processing is done locally in your browser using JavaScript. No data is sent to any external server, making it safe for confidential credentials, internal APIs, and proprietary configuration files.
Beautify adds indentation and line breaks to make XML readable for humans. Minify does the opposite — it removes all unnecessary whitespace to produce the smallest possible file size, ideal for network transmission and production APIs.
Yes. The tool handles large XML files efficiently using browser-native parsing. For extremely large files (50MB+), performance depends on your device's memory and browser capabilities.
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