XML to INI Converter

About XML to INI Converter

Convert XML data to INI (Initialization) configuration file format with automatic section generation. Perfect for creating configuration files from XML data for applications, scripts, and system settings.

Key Features

• Automatic Parsing: Intelligently extracts data from XML structure
• Section Generation: Creates INI sections from XML records
• Flexible Naming: Choose between auto-generated section names or use a specific element
• Proper Escaping: Handles special characters (\n, \t, \\, \") correctly
• Automatic Quoting: Quotes values with spaces or special characters
• Metadata Comments: Includes generation date and record count

How to Use

1. Input XML Data: Paste your XML data or upload an .xml file
2. Configure Sections: Choose auto-generated section names or specify an element to use
3. Review Output: The INI configuration generates automatically
4. Copy or Download: Use the Copy or Download button to save your INI file

Section Naming Options

• Auto-Generated: Creates section names like [record_0], [record_1], [record_2]... (default)
• Custom Field: Use a specific element (e.g., "id") as the section name

Example Conversion

XML Input:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<employees>
  <employee>
    <id>1</id>
    <name>John Doe</name>
    <age>28</age>
    <city>New York</city>
  </employee>
  <employee>
    <id>2</id>
    <name>Jane Smith</name>
    <age>34</age>
    <city>London</city>
  </employee>
</employees>

INI Output (Auto Sections):

; Generated from XML
; Date: 2024-01-15T10:30:00.000Z
; Total Records: 2

[record_0]
id = 1
name = John Doe
age = 28
city = "New York"

[record_1]
id = 2
name = Jane Smith
age = 34
city = London

INI Output (Using 'id' as section):

; Generated from XML
; Date: 2024-01-15T10:30:00.000Z
; Total Records: 2

[1]
id = 1
name = John Doe
age = 28
city = "New York"

[2]
id = 2
name = Jane Smith
age = 34
city = London

INI Format Features

• Sections: Each XML record becomes an INI section [section_name]
• Key-Value Pairs: Element names become keys, content becomes values
• Comments: Metadata included as comments (lines starting with ;)
• Escaping: Special characters properly escaped (\n, \t, \\, \")
• Quoting: Values with spaces or special characters automatically quoted

Special Character Handling

The converter properly handles special characters:

• Newlines: Converted to \n
• Tabs: Converted to \t
• Backslashes: Escaped as \\
• Quotes: Escaped as \"
• Spaces: Values with spaces are automatically quoted

Supported XML Structures

• Repeating Elements: Automatically detects common record names (row, record, item, entry, employee, product, user)
• Nested Elements: Extracts child element values as key-value pairs
• Attributes: Includes XML attributes as keys (prefixed with @)
• Mixed Content: Handles various XML structures intelligently

Common Use Cases

• Configuration Files: Create application configuration from XML data
• Settings Management: Convert XML settings to INI format
• Legacy Systems: Migrate XML configurations to INI-based systems
• Deployment: Generate environment-specific INI files from XML
• System Administration: Create system configuration files
• Application Setup: Generate initialization files for software

INI File Compatibility

The generated INI files are compatible with:

• Python's configparser module
• PHP's parse_ini_file() function
• Windows INI file readers
• Linux/Unix configuration parsers
• Most programming language INI libraries

Privacy & Security

All conversions happen locally in your browser. Your XML data is never uploaded to any server, ensuring complete privacy and security.

FAQ

How are section names chosen?

You can let the tool generate section names like [record_0], [record_1], and so on, or you can base section names on a specific XML field (for example an <id> element). Invalid characters are sanitized so that the resulting names are valid INI section headers.

What happens to XML attributes?

Attributes are included as additional keys inside each section, using names prefixed with @. This keeps attribute data available alongside element values in your INI file.

How are special characters in values handled?

Newlines, tabs, quotes, and backslashes are escaped so they remain valid in INI syntax. Values that contain spaces or special characters are automatically wrapped in quotes to avoid parsing issues.

Can I merge multiple XML files into one INI?

This tool converts one XML document at a time. To merge multiple sources, convert each file separately and then combine the resulting INI sections manually in your editor or script.