How to Format XML Online
- Paste your XML — Paste raw XML into the input area. The tool auto-detects and validates it as you type.
- Click Format — Or press
Ctrl+Enter. Your XML is instantly formatted with proper indentation and syntax highlighting. If there are errors, you'll see exactly where.
- Explore or copy — Switch to Tree View to explore nested elements, or click "Copy" to grab the formatted output.
Features
- Format / Beautify — Pretty prints XML with your choice of indentation (2 spaces, 4 spaces, or tabs). Handles nested elements, attributes, CDATA sections, and comments.
- Validate — Instantly checks if your XML is well-formed. If not, shows the error type and line number so you can fix it.
- Tree View — Interactive collapsible tree to explore XML structure. Click any element to expand or collapse it. See attributes and text content inline.
- Minify — Removes all unnecessary whitespace between tags to create the most compact XML. Useful for SOAP requests, APIs, and config files.
- Syntax Highlighting — Color-coded output: tags, attributes, values, comments, and CDATA sections each get distinct colors for easy reading.
- Stats — Shows the file size, element count, attribute count, and nesting depth of your XML.
Common XML Errors
- Unclosed tags — Every opening tag like
<item> must have a matching </item> closing tag, or be self-closing: <item />.
- Mismatched tags — Tag names are case-sensitive.
<Name>...</name> is invalid because the cases don't match.
- Unescaped special characters — Use
& for &, < for <, > for >, " for ", and ' for '. Bare & or < in text content will break parsing.
- Multiple root elements — XML documents must have exactly one root element. Wrap multiple elements in a parent tag.
- Missing quotes on attributes — Attribute values must be quoted:
id="123" not id=123.
XML Format vs. Minify
Formatted XML has indentation and line breaks, making it easy for humans to read, debug, and review. Use formatted XML during development, in documentation, and when inspecting API responses or configuration files.
Minified XML removes all whitespace between tags, reducing file size. Use minified XML in SOAP requests, REST APIs, configuration deployments, and anywhere bandwidth or storage matters.
When to Use an XML Viewer
XML documents can be deeply nested with dozens of levels. A flat text view makes it hard to understand the structure. The tree view lets you collapse sections you don't need and focus on the elements that matter. This is especially useful for SOAP responses, SVG files, Maven POM files, Android layouts, RSS/Atom feeds, and any XML configuration.
Privacy & Security
Unlike many online XML tools that send your data to a server for processing, FilePulp formats and validates XML entirely in your browser. Your API responses, configuration files, and data structures are never transmitted anywhere. This is particularly important when working with sensitive data like SOAP payloads, internal configurations, or proprietary XML schemas.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this XML formatter free?
Yes, completely free. No sign-up, no hidden fees. Format and view as much XML as you need.
Is my data uploaded to a server?
No. All formatting and validation happens locally in your browser using the DOMParser API. Your data never leaves your device — we never see, store, or have access to your XML.
What does this tool do?
It formats (pretty prints) XML with proper indentation and syntax highlighting, validates XML and shows where errors are, minifies XML by removing whitespace, and provides an interactive tree view to explore the document structure.
How do I fix invalid XML?
When your XML is invalid, the tool shows the error type and approximate location. Common issues include unclosed tags, mismatched tag names (XML is case-sensitive), unescaped special characters (& must be &), multiple root elements, and missing quotes on attribute values.
What's the difference between format and minify?
Format (beautify) adds indentation and line breaks to make XML human-readable. Minify removes all unnecessary whitespace between tags to make XML as compact as possible — useful for SOAP requests, APIs, and reducing payload size.
Can I view the XML as a tree?
Yes. Click the "Tree View" button to see your XML as an interactive, collapsible tree. You can click any element to expand or collapse it, making it easy to navigate deeply nested documents like SOAP responses, SVG files, or Maven POM files.