XML to Protocol Buffers Converter

About XML to Protocol Buffers Converter

Convert XML data to Protocol Buffers (protobuf) schema and data format. Perfect for data serialization, API development, and microservices communication.

Key Features

• Automatic Type Detection: Infers field types (string, bool, int32, int64, double)
• Schema Generation: Creates proto3 syntax schema definitions
• Sample Data: Includes textproto format sample data (first 100 records)
• Field Sanitization: Converts XML tags to valid protobuf field names
• XML Parser: Accurately parses XML with table-like structures
• File Upload: Upload .xml files directly
• Copy & Download: Easy export as .proto file

How to Use

1. Input XML Data: Paste your XML data or upload an .xml file
2. Review Output: The Protocol Buffers schema and data generate automatically
3. Copy or Download: Use the Copy or Download button to save your .proto file

Supported XML Structures

The converter recognizes several common XML table patterns:

• <table><row>...</row></table>: Standard table structure
• <data><record>...</record></data>: Data records pattern
• <records><record>...</record></records>: Records collection
• Repeated Elements: Any root with repeated child elements
• Attributes: Also supports attribute-based data

Type Detection

The converter automatically detects field types based on data values:

• bool: Values matching "true" or "false" (case-insensitive)
• int32: Integer values within -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647
• int64: Integer values outside int32 range
• double: Floating-point numbers with decimal points or scientific notation
• string: All other values (default type)

Example Conversion

XML Input:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<data>
  <record>
    <Name>John Doe</Name>
    <Age>28</Age>
    <City>New York</City>
    <Department>Engineering</Department>
  </record>
  <record>
    <Name>Jane Smith</Name>
    <Age>34</Age>
    <City>London</City>
    <Department>Marketing</Department>
  </record>
</data>

Protocol Buffers Output:

syntax = "proto3";

package xml_converter;

message XMLRecord {
  string name = 1; // Name
  int32 age = 2; // Age
  string city = 3; // City
  string department = 4; // Department
}

message XMLData {
  repeated XMLRecord records = 1;
}

// Sample data in textproto format
XMLData {
  records {
    name: "John Doe"
    age: 28
    city: "New York"
    department: "Engineering"
  }
  records {
    name: "Jane Smith"
    age: 34
    city: "London"
    department: "Marketing"
  }
}

Common Use Cases

• API Development: Define data schemas for gRPC services
• Microservices: Create message formats for service communication
• Data Serialization: Efficient binary data encoding
• Cross-Platform: Language-agnostic data structures
• Documentation: Generate protobuf schemas from XML data
• Data Migration: Convert XML data to protobuf format

Protocol Buffers Benefits

• Compact: Binary format is smaller than JSON or XML
• Fast: Efficient serialization and deserialization
• Typed: Strong typing prevents data errors
• Versioned: Forward and backward compatibility
• Multi-Language: Code generation for 20+ languages
• Validated: Schema-based validation

Field Name Sanitization

XML tags are automatically converted to valid protobuf field names:

• Converts to lowercase with underscores
• Removes special characters and accents
• Ensures names start with letters
• Handles duplicate names with numeric suffixes
• Generates default names for empty tags

Output Format

The converter generates three sections:

• Schema Definition: proto3 syntax with message types
• Statistics Comment: Number of rows processed
• Sample Data: First 100 records in textproto format

FAQ

• Do I still need to edit the generated .proto file before using it in production?

  In most real-world projects you will treat the generated schema as a starting point rather than a final contract. You may want to rename messages, adjust package names, tweak field types (for example, change string to bytes for binary data), or add comments and options specific to your ecosystem. The automatic field numbering and type inference get you 80–90% of the way there, but manual review is recommended before deploying the schema.

• How safe is the automatic type inference for integer and floating-point fields?

  The tool scans all non-empty values in a column. If every value is an integer within the 32-bit range, it uses int32; if any integer falls outside that range, it upgrades to int64. If the values contain decimals or scientific notation but are otherwise numeric, it uses double. This heuristic is generally safe, but for financial or high-precision data you may still want to explicitly choose int64 or represent values as scaled integers (for example, cents) and document that convention in your schema.

• What XML patterns are best suited for conversion to Protocol Buffers?

  Protocol Buffers are row-oriented, so the best XML inputs have a clear notion of records: a root element containing many similarly structured children (such as <record>, <row>, or <item>). Each record should have flat scalar fields. Deeply nested or highly irregular XML can still be converted, but may require post-processing or a custom mapping strategy to produce an idiomatic protobuf schema.

• How can I use the generated textproto sample data?

  The textproto block is a human-readable representation of the first 100 records. You can use it for unit tests, documentation, or quick experiments with protobuf tooling. Many languages and tooling ecosystems support parsing textproto directly into message objects, which makes it convenient for validating that your schema and data mapping behave as expected before integrating binary serialization.

• Is the conversion process secure for confidential XML payloads?

  Yes. All parsing, schema inference, and code generation run entirely within your browser. No data is transmitted to any server by this tool, and the output is presented directly in the UI for you to copy or download. This makes it suitable for converting internal logs, configuration exports, or other sensitive XML payloads into protobuf formats.

Privacy & Security

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