Elysia Tools

Browse tools, examples, visual explainers, and topic guides from one clear workspace.

Top Categories

Hubs

Language
ZHESPTRUFRDEEN

Elysia Tools

Navigation

Format Conversion

XML Escape / Unescape

· Last updated：2026-06-19

Escape and unescape XML special characters (& < > " ') with optional numeric references, slash escaping, and CDATA wrapping

Execution

Run this tool

Fill in the form, run the tool, and review the result in one place.

Samples

Examples that match this tool

Related

Continue with connected tools and hubs

Written by the Elysia Tools team
Conversion369
Format Conversion142
HTML/CSS86
XML18

Tool usage guide

Learn when to use this tool, what it supports, and how real users apply it.

Key facts

Category
Format Conversion
Input types
textarea, select, checkbox, text
Output type
text
Sample coverage
4
API ready
Yes

Overview

The XML Escape / Unescape tool allows you to quickly encode or decode special characters in XML data, ensuring well-formed documents. It supports standard entity conversions, quote escaping, OWASP-recommended slash escaping, non-ASCII numeric references, and CDATA wrapping.

When to use

  • When embedding raw text containing characters like '<', '>', or '&' inside XML tags without breaking the document structure.
  • When decoding escaped XML payloads received from APIs or configuration files back into readable plain text.
  • When wrapping complex code blocks or markup inside CDATA sections to prevent XML parsers from interpreting them.

How it works

  1. 1Paste your XML or plain text into the input text area.
  2. 2Select the operation (Escape or Unescape) and configure options like quote escaping, slash escaping, or non-ASCII conversion.
  3. 3Optionally enable CDATA wrapping and specify an element tag to enclose the escaped content.
  4. 4The tool instantly processes the input and displays the escaped or unescaped text in the output field.

Use cases

  • Preparing code snippets or HTML templates to be safely embedded inside XML configuration files.
  • Decoding XML-encoded API responses to extract the original text or payload.
  • Securing user-generated inputs against XML injection by escaping slashes and quotes before processing.

Examples

1. Safely Embedding HTML in XML

Web Developer

Background

A developer needs to store an HTML template inside an XML configuration file for a content management system.

Problem

The HTML contains '<' and '>' characters that break the XML parser.

How to use

Paste the HTML code into the input, select 'Escape', keep 'Escape Quotes' checked, and run the tool.

Operation: Escape, Escape Quotes: True, Escape Slash: False, Numeric Non-ASCII: False, Use CDATA: False

Outcome

The HTML tags are converted to safe entities like '&lt;div&gt;' which can be parsed inside XML without errors.

2. Wrapping Code in CDATA Tags

Integration Engineer

Background

An engineer is configuring a SOAP API request that includes a raw SQL query containing multiple comparison operators.

Problem

Escaping every single character makes the SQL query unreadable in the source files.

How to use

Input the SQL query, select 'Escape', check 'Wrap in CDATA section', and enter 'query' as the CDATA Element Tag.

FAQ

What characters are escaped by default?

By default, the tool escapes ampersands (&), less-than (<), greater-than (>), double quotes ("), and single quotes (').

Can I escape forward slashes?

Yes, you can enable the 'Escape Slash' option to convert '/' to '&#47;' for OWASP-compliant security.

What does the CDATA option do?

It wraps your input in a <![CDATA[...]]> section, optionally enclosed in a custom XML tag, to prevent parsers from reading the content as markup.

How does the numeric non-ASCII option work?

It converts non-ASCII characters (like accented letters or symbols) into their hexadecimal numeric character references (&#xNNNN;).

Does this tool validate XML syntax?

No, this tool only escapes or unescapes characters and does not validate the overall syntax of your XML document.

Home
Tools3201
Samples593
Visualizations465
Viewers103
Hubs233
Tags333
Images, Audio & Video657

Image, audio, and video processing, conversion, and optimization tools

Math, Date & Finance644

Calculators, numerics, date logic, statistics, and finance tools

Design & Color297

Color, layout, graphics, visual styling, and design helper tools

Text & Writing209

Writing, cleanup, formatting, extraction, and text analysis tools

Developer & Web193

Developer utilities, networking, web debugging, and automation helpers

Conversion & Encoding175

Format, file, archive, unit, and encoding conversion tools

FLAC/WAV Source Screening and Evidence Handoff
Self-Hosted Giveaway Widget Review and Embed Handoff
Stripe Promo Code Batch Review and Import Preflight
Batch Photo Culling Review and Editing Shortlist Handoff
UI Screenshot Structure Review and Development Handoff

© 2026 Elysia Tools. All rights reserved.

DocsPricingAboutTerms of ServicePrivacy PolicyCookiesContact
Java

Android Serialization Java Samples

Android Java serialization examples including JSON serialization, deserialization, and XML parsing

Kotlin

Android Serialization Kotlin Samples

Android Kotlin serialization examples including JSON serialization, deserialization, and XML parsing

Objective-C

macOS Serialization Objective-C Samples

macOS Objective-C serialization examples including JSON serialization, JSON deserialization, and XML parsing

Go

Web Data Serialization Go Samples

Web Go data serialization examples including JSON encoding/decoding and XML parsing

Development

HTML Entity Encoder/Decoder

Encode and decode HTML entities

Format Conversion

Base32 Converter

Encode and decode text to/from Base32 format with multiple variants

Format Conversion

Base58 Converter

Encode and decode text to/from Base58 format with Bitcoin and Ripple variants

Format Conversion

Base64 Converter

Encode and decode data to/from Base64 format with URL-safe options

Operation: Escape, Use CDATA: True, CDATA Element Tag: 'query'

Outcome

The output wraps the SQL query in '<query><![CDATA[...]]></query>', keeping the query readable and XML-compliant.

3. Decoding API Response Payloads

QA Tester

Background

A tester receives an XML response from a legacy system where the data fields are heavily escaped.

Problem

The text contains entities like '&amp;' and '&quot;', making it difficult to verify the actual content.

How to use

Paste the escaped XML string into the input, select 'Unescape' as the operation, and run the tool.

Operation: Unescape

Outcome

The entities are decoded back to standard characters like '&' and '"' for easy reading and validation.