XML Beautifier
XML Beautifier - a browser-based developer tools utility.
Browser tool
About XML Beautifier
An XML payload from an API or a log arrives as one unbroken line, and the nesting that makes it meaningful is invisible. Indenting it turns the structure back into something you can follow with your eyes rather than a bracket-matching exercise. Formatting is free online, and it asks nothing of you: no sign up, and no upload of the document.
How to use it
- Paste the XMLA response body, a config file, a feed, an SVG.
- Read the indented outputEach level of nesting is a level of indent, so the shape of the document becomes apparent immediately.
- Copy itInto an editor, a ticket or a test fixture.
Well formed is not the same as valid
A well-formed document follows the syntax rules — every element closed, attributes quoted, one root. A valid document also matches a schema or DTD that says which elements may appear where. This reports the first, because the second needs the schema, and most of the time a document that will not parse has broken the first.
What it does not do
- Whitespace is sometimes significant in XML — inside an element whose content model preserves it, added indentation changes the value. Reformatting is safe for reading and not always safe for reprocessing.
- Malformed markup cannot be indented reliably; the error reports where the document stops being well formed.
Questions people ask
- Will indenting break my XML?
- For most documents, no. Where an element preserves whitespace — the content of some text nodes, and anything using xml:space="preserve" — the added indentation becomes part of the value, so use the formatted copy for reading rather than as the new source.
- What is the difference between this and the XML Viewer?
- This returns reformatted text you can copy. The viewer presents the same document as a collapsible tree for navigating, without giving you a new string.
Questions about ToolsVerse itself — privacy, cost, what happens to your files — are answered in the frequently asked questions.
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