XML Formatter & Validator

About XML Formatter & Validator

Format, validate, and beautify XML documents with customizable indentation, whitespace control, and attribute sorting.

Key Features

• XML Validation: Real-time validation with error detection
• Custom Indentation: Choose spaces or tabs with configurable size
• Minification: Remove comments and whitespace for compact XML
• Attribute Sorting: Sort attributes alphabetically
• Comment Removal: Strip XML comments
• Whitespace Control: Remove unnecessary whitespace
• File Upload: Upload .xml files directly
• Copy & Download: Easy export of formatted XML

How to Use

1. Input XML: Paste your XML or upload an .xml file
2. Configure Options: Choose indentation type, size, and processing options
3. Review Output: The formatted XML generates automatically
4. Check Validation: See if your XML is valid (green badge) or has errors (red badge)
5. Copy or Download: Use the Copy or Download button to save your formatted XML

Formatting Options

• Indent Type: Choose between spaces or tabs
• Indent Size: Set the number of spaces (1-8) for indentation
• Remove Comments: Strip all XML comments from the output
• Remove Whitespace: Eliminate unnecessary whitespace between tags
• Sort Attributes: Alphabetically sort element attributes

Example Formatting

Unformatted XML:

<?xml version="1.0"?><catalog><book id="bk101"><author>John Doe</author><title>XML Guide</title><price>29.99</price></book></catalog>

Formatted XML (2 spaces):

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<catalog>
  <book id="bk101">
    <author>John Doe</author>
    <title>XML Guide</title>
    <price>29.99</price>
  </book>
</catalog>

Common Use Cases

• Code Formatting: Beautify minified or poorly formatted XML
• Validation: Check XML syntax and structure
• Minification: Reduce file size for production
• Standardization: Enforce consistent formatting across projects
• Debugging: Make XML readable for troubleshooting
• Documentation: Prepare XML for documentation or examples

Validation Features

The validator checks for:

• Well-Formedness: Proper tag nesting and closing
• Syntax Errors: Invalid characters or structure
• Declaration: Proper XML declaration format
• Encoding: Character encoding issues

Minification

The Minify button automatically:

• Removes all XML comments
• Eliminates extra whitespace between tags
• Reduces file size for production use
• Maintains XML validity

Privacy & Security

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

FAQs

• Why does my XML show as invalid? The browser’s XML parser reports well-formedness errors such as missing closing tags, mismatched nesting, or invalid characters. Check the error message block for details.
• Does this tool validate against an XSD or DTD? No. It validates well-formed XML only, not schema constraints. You can still use the formatted output with external schema validators.
• What does the Minify button do? It turns on comment and whitespace removal so the serialized XML is as compact as possible while remaining valid.
• Will sorting attributes change document meaning? For most XML use cases, attribute order is not significant. However, if you rely on specific ordering for downstream tools, leave attribute sorting disabled.
• Is any of my XML uploaded or logged? No. All parsing, formatting, and validation occur entirely in your browser.