How to Format and Beautify XML

XML that arrives as one unbroken line is unreadable — and XML shows up everywhere: SOAP responses, RSS feeds, sitemaps, config files, and countless data exchanges. Formatting it adds indentation and line breaks so the nested tag structure becomes visible, and it exposes the mismatched or unclosed tags that a wall of markup hides. This guide explains XML formatting, how it aids debugging, and how it relates to validation.

What formatting does

An XML formatter re-prints the markup with consistent indentation, placing each element on its own line and nesting child elements under their parents. The data and tags are unchanged; only whitespace is added. The payoff is that the document's hierarchy — which element contains which — becomes obvious at a glance.

How to format XML with this tool

1. Open the XML Formatter tool.
2. Paste your XML — minified or messy.
3. Format it into clean, indented markup.
4. Copy the result.

Everything runs in your browser, so your data is never uploaded.

Formatting as debugging

Like its JSON cousin, an XML formatter often finds the bug for you. When markup is malformed, the indentation goes visibly wrong at the point of the problem — an unclosed tag makes everything after it indent too deeply, and a stray closing tag breaks the nesting. Common issues formatting reveals:

• Unclosed tags — an element opened but never closed.
• Mismatched tags — closing `</b>` when you opened `<a>`.
• Missing the root element — XML needs exactly one top-level element wrapping everything.
• Unescaped characters — a raw `&`, `<`, or `>` inside text that should be escaped as `&amp;`, `&lt;`, `&gt;`.

XML's strict rules

XML is stricter than HTML. Every tag must close, tags must nest properly (no overlapping), attribute values must be quoted, and there must be a single root element. Formatting makes violations of these rules jump out.

Related tools

For JSON rather than XML, JSON Formatter does the same job. If you are working with an RSS feed or sitemap, formatting helps you read the structure before editing. Converting between markup formats? HTML to Markdown handles the HTML side.

Common uses

• Read a SOAP or API response that came minified.
• Debug a config or feed by seeing its structure.
• Spot an unclosed tag the parser complains about.
• Clean up hand-edited XML before use.

Privacy and limits

Formatting is fully local — no upload, no size limit, nothing stored, offline once loaded. Open the XML Formatter tool to make your markup readable.