About XML Editor

Edit XML with real-time validation and highlighting. Part of the DevTools Surf developer suite. Browse more tools in the XML collection.

Use Cases

• Developers editing Spring or Hibernate XML configuration files
• Technical writers maintaining XML-based documentation projects
• Integration engineers crafting SOAP request payloads by hand
• Configuration managers editing application server XML descriptors

Tips

• Watch for real-time validation errors as you type
• Use auto-complete for closing tags to avoid mismatches
• Toggle between tree view and source view as needed

Fun Facts

• Altova XMLSpy, one of the earliest dedicated XML editors, was first released in 1999 and is still actively maintained.
• The Eclipse XML editor plugin was among the first free XML editors with schema-aware auto-completion, launching around 2002.
• Modern XML editors can validate documents against schemas at speeds exceeding 10,000 elements per second.

FAQ

Does the editor auto-complete tags?

Yes — typing `<tagname>` generates the closing `</tagname>` automatically. Attribute completion is available if your document has an associated XSD.

Can I validate as I type?

Yes. Real-time validation shows errors inline as you edit. Toggle off if the red underlines become distracting during large refactors.

How does it handle large files?

The editor stays responsive up to ~5 MB. Beyond that, use the XML Viewer for inspection and reserve the editor for modifications.

Is there undo/redo?

Standard Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y works. History is kept per tab session — closing the tab clears it.