Browser-based — nothing to install

Format XML Online, free and instant

Paste messy or minified XML and get a cleanly indented document the moment you let go of the keyboard. Choose 2-space, 4-space, or tab indentation, minify back to a single line, strip comments, and catch well-formedness errors — all online in your browser, without creating an account.

100% free
No signup
Up to 5 MB
Runs in browser
Works offline

Indent

Strip comments

Your XML

Formatted XML

The formatted result appears here.

Paste XML, drop a file, or press Ctrl+V anywhere on this page.

How to format XML online

Three steps — paste, pick your indentation, copy the result. No install, no account.

Open the online formatter and add your XML
Paste XML into the left panel, drag an .xml file onto the editor, or press Ctrl+V (⌘V on Mac) anywhere on the page. The online formatter handles documents up to 5 MB — .xml, .xsd, .xsl, .svg, .rss, .plist, and every other XML dialect.
Pick indentation or minify
Select Beautify to re-indent with 2 spaces, 4 spaces, or a tab per nesting level. Switch to Minify to collapse everything to one line, shaving 20-40% off the file size. Toggle 'Strip comments' to remove all  blocks.
Copy or download the result
The right panel updates live as you type. Click Copy to grab the result, or Download to save it as an .xml file. If there is a syntax error, the status bar pinpoints the exact line, column, and offending source line.

Technical specifications

Accepted input	Any XML — .xml, .xsd, .xsl/.xslt, .svg, .rss, .atom, .wsdl, .kml, .plist, .config, pom.xml
Beautify options	2 spaces, 4 spaces, or tab indentation per nesting level
Minify	Collapses the document to a single line, removing all unnecessary whitespace
Maximum document size	5 MB, about 150,000 lines
Validation	Well-formedness check reporting the line and column of the first error
Preserved exactly	Attribute order, quote style, XML declaration, DOCTYPE, CDATA, comments, entities, namespace prefixes
Processing location	Your browser — the XML is never uploaded to a server
Works offline	Yes, once the page has loaded
Price	Free, no signup, no limit on the number of documents

Frequently asked questions

Can I format XML online without installing anything?

Yes. This tool runs entirely inside your browser — there is no software to download, no extension to install, and no command-line setup. Open the page, paste your XML, and the formatted output appears on the right panel instantly.

Is this online XML formatter free?

Completely free. There is no signup, no daily limit, and no watermark on the output. Format as many documents as you need, as often as you need.

Does it work on a phone or tablet?

Yes. The formatter is a responsive web app, so it works in any modern browser on any device — desktop, laptop, phone, or tablet. On smaller screens the panels stack vertically.

Is my XML uploaded to a server?

No. The parser and formatter are JavaScript running in your browser tab. Your XML never leaves your device, which also means formatting keeps working after you go offline.

What is the maximum file size for the online formatter?

5 MB per document, roughly 150,000 lines of typical XML. A 2 MB file formats in well under a second on a modern device. Above 5 MB the tool asks you to split the document to avoid freezing the tab.

Does the formatter validate my XML too?

Yes — every document is checked for well-formedness as it is formatted. If there is a syntax error, the status bar shows the error type, line, column, and the source line that caused it. For a validation-focused workflow, try the XML validator page.

What XML dialects are supported?

All of them. SVG, RSS, Atom, SOAP, WSDL, XSD schemas, Maven pom.xml, Android layouts, .plist files, and any other well-formed XML. Fragments with multiple root elements are formatted too.

Does formatting change anything besides whitespace?

No. Attribute order, quote style (single or double), CDATA sections, processing instructions, the XML declaration, DOCTYPE, entities, and namespace prefixes are all preserved exactly as written.

Why format XML online?

Command-line tools like xmllint require installation, and desktop editors add steps you do not need when all you want is readable markup. An online formatter removes every barrier: open a tab, paste, done. This one goes further — it runs a custom parser in JavaScript so your XML never leaves the browser, and it keeps working after you go offline.

Errors are actionable. Instead of a generic “parse error” you get line 14, column 7, mismatched closing tag </item> together with the source line itself. For a validation-centered workflow, see the XML validator. Need to go the other way? The XML minifier collapses your document to a single line.

Everything your document contains — attribute order, single-quoted values, CDATA sections, namespace prefixes, entities — survives formatting untouched. Only the whitespace changes. For more on the syntax itself, read our guide on what XML format is.

Where your XML is processed

Everything happens in the browser tab you are reading this in. The document you paste is parsed and re-printed by JavaScript on your own machine and is never uploaded, logged, or stored — which is also why the formatter keeps working after you disconnect from the internet.