XML Formatter

Format, beautify and minify XML with configurable indent. Preserves comments and CDATA

Key Facts

Category
Conversion & Encoding
Input Types
textarea, number, select, checkbox
Output Type
text
Sample Coverage
4
API Ready
Yes

Overview

The XML Formatter is a utility tool designed to format, beautify, and minify XML data. It allows you to configure indent sizes, toggle between beautification and minification modes, preserve comments, and collapse whitespace while keeping CDATA sections intact.

When to Use

  • •When you need to clean up unformatted, single-line XML payloads received from APIs or web services for easier debugging.
  • •When you want to reduce the file size of XML configuration files by minifying them and removing unnecessary whitespace.
  • •When you need to format complex XML structures with custom indentation while preserving critical CDATA sections and developer comments.

How It Works

  • •Paste your raw XML data into the XML Input text area.
  • •Select the desired mode (Beautify or Minify) and configure options like Indent Size, Preserve Comments, and Collapse Whitespace.
  • •Click the format button to process the XML and instantly view or copy the structured output.

Use Cases

Beautifying minified SOAP API responses to inspect payload structures and troubleshoot integration errors.
Compressing Android layout XML files or Maven pom.xml files to minimize deployment package sizes.
Formatting configuration files with custom indentation to maintain clean, readable codebases in version control.

Examples

1. Beautifying a Minified SOAP API Response

Backend Developer
Background
A developer receives a minified, single-line XML response from a legacy SOAP service and needs to inspect the nested elements.
Problem
The raw XML is unreadable, making it difficult to locate specific data nodes and debug a payload mismatch.
How to Use
Paste the minified XML into the input area, set the Mode to 'Beautify', choose an Indent Size of 4, and ensure 'Preserve Comments' is checked.
Example Config
{"indentSize": 4, "mode": "beautify", "preserveComments": true}
Outcome
The XML is formatted into a clean, hierarchical structure with 4-space indentation, making the nested elements easy to read.

2. Minifying XML Configuration Files for Production

DevOps Engineer
Background
An engineer needs to prepare a large XML configuration file for a production deployment where file size and load times are critical.
Problem
The configuration file contains extensive comments and whitespace that increase the file size unnecessarily.
How to Use
Paste the configuration XML, set the Mode to 'Minify', and uncheck 'Preserve Comments' to strip out all non-essential data.
Example Config
{"mode": "minify", "preserveComments": false, "collapseWhitespace": true}
Outcome
The XML is compressed into a single line with all comments and extra whitespace removed, significantly reducing the file size.

Try with Samples

xml
XML Samples
XML (eXtensible Markup Language) format examples from simple to complex structures
title token xml
xml
Nginx Log Parser Samples
Comprehensive Nginx log samples for testing log-parser tool, including access logs and error logs with various formats and scenarios
preferred input family xml
xml
Text Case Format Samples
Examples of different text case formats: camelCase, snake_case, kebab-case, PascalCase, and more
preferred input family xml
xml
Android Serialization Java Samples
Android Java serialization examples including JSON serialization, deserialization, and XML parsing
preferred input family xml
xml

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FAQ

Can I format XML without losing my comments?

Yes, enable the 'Preserve Comments' option to keep all XML comments intact during formatting.

What indentation sizes are supported?

You can configure the indent size anywhere from 0 to 8 spaces.

Does this tool support minification?

Yes, switch the Mode option to 'Minify' to strip out unnecessary whitespace and compress your XML.

Will my CDATA sections be modified?

No, the formatter preserves CDATA sections to ensure your data integrity is maintained.

What does the Collapse Whitespace option do?

It removes redundant spaces, tabs, and newlines within text nodes while keeping the XML structure valid.

API Documentation

Request Endpoint

POST /en/api/tools/xml-formatter

Request Parameters

Parameter Name Type Required Description
xmlInput textarea Yes -
indentSize number No -
mode select No -
preserveComments checkbox No -
collapseWhitespace checkbox No -

Response Format

{
  "result": "Processed text content",
  "error": "Error message (optional)",
  "message": "Notification message (optional)",
  "metadata": {
    "key": "value"
  }
}
Text: Text

AI MCP Documentation

Add this tool to your MCP server configuration: 

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "elysiatools-xml-formatter": {
      "name": "xml-formatter",
      "description": "Format, beautify and minify XML with configurable indent. Preserves comments and CDATA",
      "baseUrl": "https://elysiatools.com/mcp/sse?toolId=xml-formatter",
      "command": "",
      "args": [],
      "env": {},
      "isActive": true,
      "type": "sse"
    }
  }
}

You can chain multiple tools, e.g.: `https://elysiatools.com/mcp/sse?toolId=png-to-webp,jpg-to-webp,gif-to-webp`, max 20 tools.

If you encounter any issues, please contact us at [email protected]