What element names does it use?

Default: ` ` wrapping each record, with cells as child elements named after the CSV header. If no header, ` `, ` `, etc.

What about the root element?

Configurable — default is ` `. Set anything that's a valid XML name (starts with letter, no spaces, no colons unless namespaced).

Yes — `&`, ` `, and quotes are properly entity-encoded. The output always parses as valid XML regardless of CSV content.

Yes — toggle to put each CSV column as an attribute on ` ` instead of a child element. More compact, slightly less expressive.

Convert CSV data to XML format. Part of the DevTools Surf developer suite. Browse more tools in the Converters collection.

CSV headers with spaces or special characters must be sanitized to create valid XML element names, which cannot start with numbers.
XML's strict structure means CSV-to-XML conversion always increases file size, typically by 2-4x due to opening and closing tags.
The first widely-used CSV-to-XML tools appeared in the early 2000s as enterprises migrated flat files to XML-based data interchange.

What element names does it use?: Default: `<row>` wrapping each record, with cells as child elements named after the CSV header. If no header, `<cell1>`, `<cell2>`, etc.
What about the root element?: Configurable — default is `<rows>`. Set anything that's a valid XML name (starts with letter, no spaces, no colons unless namespaced).
Does it escape XML special characters?: Yes — `&`, `<`, `>`, and quotes are properly entity-encoded. The output always parses as valid XML regardless of CSV content.
Can I output attribute-style instead of element-style?: Yes — toggle to put each CSV column as an attribute on `<row>` instead of a child element. More compact, slightly less expressive.

Convert CSV data to XML format. Part of the DevTools Surf developer suite. Browse more tools in the Converters collection.

CSV headers with spaces or special characters must be sanitized to create valid XML element names, which cannot start with numbers.
XML's strict structure means CSV-to-XML conversion always increases file size, typically by 2-4x due to opening and closing tags.
The first widely-used CSV-to-XML tools appeared in the early 2000s as enterprises migrated flat files to XML-based data interchange.

What element names does it use?: Default: `<row>` wrapping each record, with cells as child elements named after the CSV header. If no header, `<cell1>`, `<cell2>`, etc.
What about the root element?: Configurable — default is `<rows>`. Set anything that's a valid XML name (starts with letter, no spaces, no colons unless namespaced).
Does it escape XML special characters?: Yes — `&`, `<`, `>`, and quotes are properly entity-encoded. The output always parses as valid XML regardless of CSV content.
Can I output attribute-style instead of element-style?: Yes — toggle to put each CSV column as an attribute on `<row>` instead of a child element. More compact, slightly less expressive.