When is XML string-encoded?

Inside JSON fields (logs, APIs), inside YAML values, or inside environment variables. Any text transport that doesn't natively support XML markup.

Does it escape or unescape?

Unescape — takes an escaped string and produces parsed XML. Pair with xml-to-string for the reverse direction.

The BOM and ` ` declaration are preserved when present. The tool detects common encodings automatically.

Well-formedness yes. For DTD/XSD validation use XML Validator after conversion.

A worked example, rendered from real sample data. Sign in to run the tool on your own input.

Input

<user><name>John</name><age>30</age></user>

Output

<user>
  <name>John</name>
  <age>30</age>
</user>

Parse stringified XML back to formatted XML. Part of the DevTools Surf developer suite. Browse more tools in the Converters collection.

XML 1.0 became a W3C Recommendation on February 10, 1998, making it over 25 years old.
SGML, XML's parent language, was developed by Charles Goldfarb, Ed Mosher, and Ray Lorie at IBM in the 1970s.
The XML specification requires that every document have exactly one root element, a rule inherited from SGML.

When is XML string-encoded?: Inside JSON fields (logs, APIs), inside YAML values, or inside environment variables. Any text transport that doesn't natively support XML markup.
Does it escape or unescape?: Unescape — takes an escaped string and produces parsed XML. Pair with xml-to-string for the reverse direction.
What if the content has encoding declarations?: The BOM and `<?xml encoding="..."?>` declaration are preserved when present. The tool detects common encodings automatically.
Will it validate the result?: Well-formedness yes. For DTD/XSD validation use XML Validator after conversion.

A worked example, rendered from real sample data. Sign in to run the tool on your own input.

Input

<user><name>John</name><age>30</age></user>

Output

<user>
  <name>John</name>
  <age>30</age>
</user>

Parse stringified XML back to formatted XML. Part of the DevTools Surf developer suite. Browse more tools in the Converters collection.

XML 1.0 became a W3C Recommendation on February 10, 1998, making it over 25 years old.
SGML, XML's parent language, was developed by Charles Goldfarb, Ed Mosher, and Ray Lorie at IBM in the 1970s.
The XML specification requires that every document have exactly one root element, a rule inherited from SGML.

When is XML string-encoded?: Inside JSON fields (logs, APIs), inside YAML values, or inside environment variables. Any text transport that doesn't natively support XML markup.
Does it escape or unescape?: Unescape — takes an escaped string and produces parsed XML. Pair with xml-to-string for the reverse direction.
What if the content has encoding declarations?: The BOM and `<?xml encoding="..."?>` declaration are preserved when present. The tool detects common encodings automatically.
Will it validate the result?: Well-formedness yes. For DTD/XSD validation use XML Validator after conversion.