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Developer & Utilities

XML Formatter & Beautifier

Beautify, indent, or minify XML with your choice of spacing, plus built-in validation. Runs in your browser — nothing is uploaded. Free.

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💡 How to use

  • Beautify indents your XML into a clean, readable tree.
  • Minify strips whitespace to shrink the file for transport.
  • Invalid XML is reported with the parser error. Everything runs in your browser — nothing is uploaded.

Free XML Formatter & Beautifier

Beautify, indent, or minify XML instantly in your browser. Paste your XML to get a clean, readable tree with your choice of indentation, or minify it to shrink the file. Invalid XML is flagged with the exact parser error. Free, no sign-up, and nothing is uploaded.

What this tool does

Raw XML from APIs, config files, sitemaps, or exports often arrives on a single line or with messy indentation that is hard to read. This tool parses your XML, checks that it is well-formed, and re-prints it with consistent indentation so the structure is obvious. It can also do the reverse — minify well-formed XML by removing the whitespace between tags.

How to use it

It is instant:

  • Paste your XML into the input box.
  • Choose an indent size — 2 spaces, 4 spaces, or a tab.
  • Click Beautify to format, or Minify to compress.
  • Copy the result with one click.

Beautify vs minify

Beautify is for humans: it adds line breaks and indentation so you can scan the hierarchy, spot missing tags, and debug quickly. Minify is for machines and transport: it strips the whitespace between elements to reduce byte size, which is useful before sending XML over the wire or storing it. Both keep your data identical — only the formatting changes.

Built-in validation

The formatter parses your XML with the browser's own XML engine, so it catches well-formedness errors — an unclosed tag, a stray angle bracket, mismatched element names, or an invalid character. When something is wrong, you get the parser's error message instead of broken output, which makes it a quick way to sanity-check XML before using it.

Common uses

Developers use an XML formatter to read API responses (SOAP, RSS, Atom), tidy up configuration files, inspect sitemap.xml and other feeds, and prepare snippets for documentation. It is also handy for comparing two XML documents: format both the same way and a line-by-line diff becomes meaningful instead of noisy.

Privacy

Everything happens locally in your browser using the built-in DOM parser — your XML is never sent to a server, logged, or stored. That makes it safe for internal configs, private feeds, and any XML you would not want to paste into an online service that uploads your data.

FAQ

Is this XML formatter free?
Yes. It is completely free, runs in your browser, and needs no account or sign-up.
Does my XML get uploaded anywhere?
No. Formatting and validation happen entirely in your browser, so your XML never leaves your device.
What is the difference between beautify and minify?
Beautify adds indentation and line breaks so XML is easy to read. Minify removes the whitespace between tags to make the file smaller. Neither changes your actual data.
Will it tell me if my XML is invalid?
Yes. The tool parses your XML and shows the exact well-formedness error — such as an unclosed or mismatched tag — instead of producing broken output.
Can I choose the indentation?
Yes. You can format with 2 spaces, 4 spaces, or tabs to match your project's style.
Does it work with large XML files?
Yes, within your browser's memory. Very large documents (tens of megabytes) may be slower since all processing is local.
Does it support namespaces and attributes?
Yes. Element namespaces, prefixes, and attributes are preserved exactly as written; only whitespace and indentation change.

Related tools

Pro tip: pair this tool with Upside Down Text Generator and What is My Browser for a faster SEO workflow.