What is XML well-formedness?

A well-formed XML document follows basic syntax rules: every opening tag has a closing tag, tags are properly nested, attribute values are quoted, and there is exactly one root element.

What is the difference between XML validation and XML well-formedness?

Well-formedness checks basic structural rules. Validation checks against a schema like XSD or DTD. This tool checks well-formedness only.

What XPath syntax is supported?

The tool supports XPath 1.0 expressions including element selection, attribute selection, wildcard, descendant paths, and basic predicates.

Can I format XML with CDATA sections?

Yes. CDATA sections are preserved as-is during formatting.

Does this handle XML namespaces?

Yes. The formatter preserves namespace declarations and prefixes. The tree view shows namespace-prefixed element names.

What character encoding is assumed?

The browser parses XML as UTF-8 by default. Copy-paste works correctly for UTF-8 content.

How do I collapse all tree nodes?

Each node has an expand or collapse toggle. Click a parent node arrow to collapse all its children.

Can I use this to format RSS or Atom feeds?

Yes. RSS and Atom feeds are XML documents and format correctly. The tree view is especially useful for browsing feed item elements.

What is the element count?

Element count shows the total number of XML elements in the document giving you a quick measure of document complexity.

Does any data leave my browser?

No. Formatting, minification, and validation all run entirely in your browser using the native DOMParser API.

XML Formatter

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Format, minify, and validate XML with interactive collapsible tree view and XPath query support.

Free Forever

No Signup Required

No Files Stored

XML Input

XML Output

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Embed this tool

Add this tool to your website or blog with a single iframe snippet.

<iframe src="https://dukotools.com/tools/xml-formatter?embed=1" width="100%" height="600" frameborder="0" allow="clipboard-write" loading="lazy" title="xml-formatter tool"></iframe>

About XML Formatter

XML Formatter is a professional-grade XML development tool combining formatting, minification, validation, and interactive tree visualisation in a single page. Paste raw XML and click Format to get cleanly indented XML with 2-space indentation. Click Minify to remove all whitespace for compact wire transfer. Live validation with 300ms debounce means you see errors highlighted as you type without any button click. The tree view is the differentiating feature: toggle to an interactive collapsible tree showing every element, its attributes, and text content. The XPath query input below the tree lets you enter any XPath expression and see matching nodes highlighted in the tree and listed in a results panel.

Key Features

Format and Minify
One-click pretty-print with 2-space indentation or minification removing all whitespace.
Well-Formedness Validation
Validates XML with real-time error messages showing line number and error description.
Interactive Tree View
Collapsible element tree showing tag names, attributes, and text content per node.
XPath Query Input
Run XPath expressions and see matching nodes highlighted in the tree and listed in results.
Syntax Highlighted Output
Formatted XML output displayed with syntax colouring.
Element and Character Count
Shows total element count and character count as document statistics.

How to Use

1
Paste XML
Paste raw or minified XML into the input textarea.
2
Format or Minify
Click Format for pretty-printing or Minify for compact output.
3
Validate
Click Validate or check the live error indicator for well-formedness problems.
4
Explore the tree
Toggle tree view to browse the document structure with collapsible nodes.
5
Run XPath
Enter an XPath expression in the query box to find and highlight specific nodes.

Real-World Use Cases

API Response Debugging

A developer receives a minified XML response from a SOAP API and uses the formatter to indent and browse the structure before writing a parser.

XPath Development

A developer writing an XSLT transformation uses the XPath query input to test expressions against sample XML before embedding them in the stylesheet.

Config File Review

A DevOps engineer uses the tree view to browse a complex Maven pom.xml and verify dependency declarations without counting indentation levels.

Frequently Asked Questions

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