Code Formatting

XML Formatter

Format, compress and pretty-print XML.

Input XML
Formatted result
Formatted result will appear here

What is XML Formatter?

XML (eXtensible Markup Language) is a markup language for structured data. The XML formatter beautifies XML code with proper indentation and validates syntax.

Features

  • Format: Beautify XML with indentation
  • Minify: Remove whitespace for compact output
  • Validate: Check XML syntax
  • Custom Indent: Configurable indentation

Use Cases

  • Configuration files (web.config, pom.xml)
  • API responses (SOAP, RSS)
  • Data interchange formats

Frequently Asked Questions

XML or JSON — which should I use?
For new systems and web APIs, JSON (lighter, universally parsed). XML remains irreplaceable for document markup, SOAP enterprise interfaces, data exchange requiring namespaces and strict XSD validation, and publishing/legal industries. This site has converters between the two.
Does formatting preserve comments and CDATA?
Yes. Formatting only adjusts indentation and line breaks: comments , CDATA sections, and processing instructions are kept verbatim. Text inside CDATA is never re-indented, since that would change the content itself.
What does "XML declaration in wrong position" mean?
must be the very first thing in the document — no spaces, line breaks, or BOM before it. Files exported from other systems commonly have stray whitespace there; delete it and the error goes away.