XML Formatter
Beautify or minify XML documents instantly. Format messy XML into readable output.
What is XML Formatting?
XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a text-based format used to structure and exchange data between systems — from SOAP APIs and RSS feeds to configuration files and legacy enterprise integrations. Because XML is often generated by machines or transmitted over a network, it's commonly stripped of extra whitespace and packed onto a single line, which makes it fast to transfer but very difficult for a person to read.
An XML formatter (also called an XML beautifier) solves this by adding consistent indentation and line breaks around every element, without touching the underlying content. Formatting only affects whitespace — element names, attributes, text content, and document structure remain exactly the same before and after. This is what people mean by "pretty print XML": taking valid but visually flat markup and laying it out so the nesting of parent and child elements is easy to follow.
The opposite operation, minifying, strips out all non-essential whitespace to shrink file size — useful when XML is being sent over a network, where readability doesn't matter but every byte does. A good XML formatter tool lets you move freely between both: beautify XML to read and debug it, then minify it again before shipping.
This page lets you format XML online for free, directly in your browser. Paste any XML — from an API response, a config file, or an RSS feed — and it's instantly beautified with syntax highlighting, or minified and validated, all without installing anything or sending your data anywhere.
Why Format XML?
Readability
Deeply nested elements are hard to scan when XML is minified onto a single line. Proper indentation makes the document tree and element relationships obvious at a glance.
Debugging
A formatted view makes it easy to spot a missing closing tag, mismatched element, or misplaced attribute without hunting through a wall of unbroken markup.
API Integration
SOAP and REST services still exchange XML payloads. Formatted XML makes it far faster to inspect requests and responses while building or testing an integration.
Configuration Files
Many build tools and frameworks use XML for configuration — pom.xml, web.xml, Android manifests. Formatting keeps hand-edited config files reviewable in pull requests.
Example
Here's the same XML document before and after formatting with 2-space indentation.
<?xml version="1.0"?><bookstore><book category="fiction"><title>The Great Gatsby</title><author>F. Scott Fitzgerald</author><year>1925</year><price>12.99</price></book></bookstore><?xml version="1.0"?>
<bookstore>
<book category="fiction">
<title>The Great Gatsby</title>
<author>F. Scott Fitzgerald</author>
<year>1925</year>
<price>12.99</price>
</book>
</bookstore>Features
Format
Beautify minified or messy XML into clean, indented output with 2 or 4-space indentation.
Minify
Strip all whitespace to produce the smallest possible XML payload for production use.
Copy
Copy the formatted or minified output to your clipboard with a single click.
Download
Save the result as a standalone .xml file for use in your project or documentation.