01
Compare the two examples
The default example works as a compact object. The mixed example deliberately stops in that mode; switch to Ordered to see text, element and text in the content array.
JSON tools
XML to JSONchoose a mapping that keeps your content
Try repeated items and attributes, or load the mixed-content example to compare the two output models.
XML to JSON
XML input
JSON result
Processed in this browser. Your input is not uploaded or stored.
Attributes and qualified names are always retained. Text values stay strings.
Result is out of date; export is disabled.
XML to JSON is useful when an XML response needs to feed an API, a test fixture or a script that reads objects. A tag name alone cannot tell you whether its value is a number, an identifier or a list.
This converter keeps values as strings and makes the structural choice explicit. A compact object suits data records; an ordered document suits text interleaved with elements. Neither model promises the original XML bytes.
Why choose this XML to JSON converter?
Stable lists when one item remains
XML to JSON groups adjacent repeated children into arrays. Enable the single-child array option when a consumer expects a list even for one item. The document root stays a named property.
Keep text in its original place
The compact model refuses text mixed with elements and a,b,a sequences. Select ordered content to retain those positions as typed nodes instead of exporting a silently rearranged object.
Choose the model before checking the output
02
Decide which whitespace matters
Leaf text is never trimmed. Formatting whitespace between elements is ignored by default, but xml:space="preserve" overrides that rule. Retaining all whitespace may require ordered mode.
03
Control when the result refreshes
Automatic conversion waits 350 ms. Turn it off for several edits, then press Convert or Ctrl/Cmd+Enter. Any edit immediately disables export until the current document succeeds.
Explicit mappings for XML data
Attributes and qualified names
Compact output uses @id for an attribute and #text for a leaf with attributes. Prefixes and xmlns declarations remain intact; p:item and q:item are distinct keys. Ordered elements also include namespaceURI.
Text, CDATA and metadata
Ordered output contains type-tagged elements, text, CDATA, comments and processing instructions in content arrays. The XML declaration is separate metadata. Compact output combines text and CDATA values but refuses comments and instructions.
Strings stay strings
The values 001, 12.00, true and 9007199254740993 remain strings. Empty elements become empty strings in compact mode. No schema is available to infer booleans, nulls or safe numeric types.
Boundaries to check before exporting
- Strict XML, no entity expansion
- Only one well-formed XML 1.0 root is accepted. Every DOCTYPE is rejected, including internal entity declarations. External entities, XInclude and schema locations are never fetched or expanded; malformed input is not repaired. Encoding declarations must be UTF-8 (UTF8 is also accepted).
- Order requires the right model
- Compact output rejects mixed content, interleaved repeated names, comments and processing instructions, including metadata outside the root. Retaining root-level whitespace also requires ordered mode. Use that mode rather than deleting content to make a conversion pass.
- Parsing changes lexical details
- XML rules normalize line endings and attribute whitespace, and decode character references. Compact output drops the XML declaration and CDATA boundaries. Prefixes are not normalized or stripped; neither model is a byte-for-byte archive or an XSD validator.
- One bounded text document
- Limits are 500,000 input characters, depth 100, 50,000 XML nodes and attributes, and 2,000,000 output characters. There is no file import, URL loading, batch operation or saved history. The reverse link opens a separate tool without sending data.
XML to JSON questions
Why is a single child not an array?
By default, only repeated adjacent names become arrays. Enable the single-child array option for every child element to use an array, even when it occurs once. It affects compact output only; the root wrapper is unchanged.
What becomes of namespace prefixes?
Names keep their prefixes, and namespace declarations remain attributes. Ordered nodes additionally expose the resolved namespaceURI. The converter does not merge aliases or strip prefixes, so it does not silently combine different names.
Does conversion preserve mixed-content order?
Yes in ordered mode: text and elements share one content array in source order. Compact XML to JSON stops with a clear error for mixed content or a,b,a rather than silently flattening those positions.
Is there an input size limit?
The input limit is 500,000 characters, not bytes. Depth, node count and generated output also have limits. A short but deeply nested document or a large pretty-printed result can therefore fail before reaching the input limit.
How are comments and CDATA represented?
Ordered mode retains comments and CDATA as separate typed nodes. Compact mode refuses comments; CDATA becomes ordinary text with the same parsed value. This changes its lexical representation, not the contained characters.
Found an unexpected result?
Inspect your next document
Use XML to JSON to compare the example’s attributes and repeated items, then choose the output model your receiving application understands.