About XML Formatter
XML (eXtensible Markup Language) is a widely used format for structured data in web services, configuration files, document formats (like SVG, RSS, SOAP), and data interchange. However, raw XML — especially from APIs or machine-generated sources — is often delivered as a single line or with inconsistent formatting, making it difficult to read and understand.
This XML Formatter parses your input using the browser's built-in DOMParser and re-serializes it with consistent indentation, one element per line, and proper nesting visualization. Invalid XML triggers an error message from the parser, helping you identify and fix syntax issues. You can also minify well-formatted XML to remove whitespace for smaller file sizes. Since all processing happens in JavaScript within your browser, your data remains completely private.
How to Use XML Formatter
- Paste or type your XML into the XML input area.
- Click Format to beautify with consistent indentation, or Minify to compress to a single line.
- If the XML has syntax errors, an error message will appear. Fix the issues and try again.
- Copy the formatted result for use in your editor, documentation, or configuration.
Key Features
- Beautify & minify — Format for readability or compress for production
- Error detection — Reports XML syntax errors with descriptive messages
- Namespace support — Preserves XML namespaces, attributes, and declarations
- Consistent indentation — Clean, readable output with proper nesting levels
- Client-side processing — Uses the browser's DOMParser; no data leaves your device
When to Use This Tool
- Making minified API responses or SOAP messages readable for debugging
- Formatting configuration files (web.xml, pom.xml, .csproj) for code review
- Beautifying SVG files for manual editing or optimization
- Minifying XML data feeds or configuration for production deployment
- Quick syntax checking before using XML in APIs or build systems
Technical Details
The formatter uses the browser's native DOMParser to parse the XML string into a DOM tree. If parsing fails, the DOMParser returns a document containing a <parsererror> element, which the tool extracts and displays as an error message. For formatting, the tool traverses the DOM tree and serializes it with consistent two-space indentation, placing each element on its own line. For minification, all unnecessary whitespace between elements is removed. The tool preserves XML declarations, processing instructions, CDATA sections, namespaces, and attributes. All processing runs in JavaScript within your browser.
Conclusion
XML Formatter is a fast, private tool for beautifying and minifying XML documents directly in your browser. With error detection, namespace support, and consistent formatting, it simplifies working with XML from any source. For validating XML syntax, try the XML Validator, or format JSON with the JSON Formatter.