AnyTool
Your files never leave your device. All processing happens locally in your browser.

How do I format and validate XML online?

Paste XML into AnyTool and it beautifies, minifies, and validates it in real time using a real parser. You get a collapsible tree view, XPath evaluation, syntax highlighting, and line/column error reporting. It runs entirely in your browser with no upload.

  • Beautify with 2/3/4-space or tab indentation, or minify
  • Real DOMParser validation with line/column error messages
  • Collapsible tree view and live XPath evaluator
  • Syntax highlighting, file upload/download, and copy
  • 100% in-browser — no upload, works offline

What is

XML Formatting

XML formatting (beautifying) re-indents an XML document so its element hierarchy is readable, while minifying strips whitespace to shrink it. Validation checks well-formedness — matched tags, valid attributes, proper entities — using a real XML parser rather than naive text matching.

Developer Tools

Related terms

XMLXPathWell-FormedCDATADOMParser

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes — it uses a real parser, so CDATA, comments, and namespaces are preserved correctly.

Instead of regex reflow, it uses a real XML engine and the browser DOMParser, so mixed content, CDATA sections containing angle brackets, multiline attributes, and xmlns namespace prefixes are formatted faithfully rather than mangled.

Yes — it reports well-formedness errors with line and column.

As you type, the tool parses with DOMParser and surfaces any parse error with a normalized line/column and human-readable message, catching mismatched or duplicate attributes, bad entities, and namespace mistakes a tag-counter would miss.

Yes — free, no signup, and your XML never leaves the browser.

There is no cookie-consent wall, no server round-trip, and no document saved to the cloud. Formatting, validation, the tree view, and XPath all run locally, so it works offline and your XML stays private.

Detailed Explanation

Methodology

How the XML Formatter Works

AnyTool formats, minifies, and validates XML using a real parser rather than regex. Beautify supports 2/3/4-space or tab indentation and minify reports byte savings; validation uses the browser DOMParser, extracting and normalizing the parsererror line, column, and message across engines. A collapsible tree view of the parsed DOM and an XPath evaluator (document.evaluate) round out the tool, and CDATA, comments, processing instructions, DOCTYPE, and namespaces are preserved untouched.

  • Beautify (2/3/4-space, tab) and minify with byte stats
  • DOMParser validation with normalized line/column errors
  • Collapsible tree view and live XPath evaluator
  • CDATA, comments, and namespaces preserved
  • Real-time format and validate as you type
Privacy & Security

Privacy and Offline Use

There is no cookie-consent wall, no server round-trip, and no document saved to the cloud: formatting, validation, the tree view, and XPath all run client-side with the engine bundled locally, so XML stays private and the tool works offline.

XML Formatter: AnyTool vs typical tools
CapabilityAnyToolTypical tools
Real parser (not regex)YesOften regex
Validation with line/columnYesPartial
Tree view + XPathYesSometimes (gated)
Processing locationIn-browserSometimes server-side
No ads-wall / no signupYesOften gated

Capabilities reflect the live AnyTool tool; competitor behavior varies by service.