XML Beautifier & Pretty Printer Online
Pretty-print and beautify XML documents instantly in your browser. Transform minified or messy XML into properly indented, readable markup — all processing happens client-side.
XML Formatter & Validator
Format, beautify, validate, and minify XML documents instantly. Supports comments, CDATA, processing instructions, and namespaces.
About XML Formatting
This tool formats XML documents for readability by adding proper indentation and placing each element on its own line. It validates your XML using the browser's built-in DOMParser before formatting.
Validation: Checks for well-formedness — properly nested tags, matching open/close tags, valid attribute syntax, and correct use of special characters. Reports the first error found.
Minify: Removes all unnecessary whitespace between tags and strips comments, producing compact single-line XML. Useful for reducing payload size in APIs and configuration files.
Supported features: XML declarations (<?xml?>), processing instructions, comments (<!-- -->), CDATA sections (<![CDATA[]]>), DOCTYPE declarations, namespaced elements, and self-closing tags.
What is XML pretty printing?
XML pretty printing transforms compact or minified XML into a human-readable format with proper indentation and line breaks. Each nested element is indented to clearly show the document's hierarchical structure. This makes it far easier to visually parse complex XML documents, spot missing closing tags, and understand data relationships.
Common use cases
Developers beautify XML when inspecting API responses (SOAP, RSS, Atom), debugging configuration files (Maven pom.xml, Spring beans, Android layouts), or reviewing data exports. It is also useful for formatting XML received from web services, log files, or database exports where the XML is delivered as a single compressed line.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does pretty printing change the XML data?
No. Pretty printing only adds or adjusts whitespace between elements. The actual data content, attributes, and structure remain identical. Note that in rare cases, whitespace-sensitive applications may treat the added indentation as significant.
Can I beautify very large XML files?
Yes, though very large files (10MB+) may take a moment since processing happens in your browser. For extremely large XML documents, consider using a local CLI tool for better performance.