XML Validator
Paste XML and get a live well-formed check with the failing line and column, plus a preview of the element tree.
This XML validator runs your markup through the same parser your browser ships, so a well-formed check here matches what real software will accept. Paste a document and it reports live: unclosed tags, mismatched opening and closing names, stray characters, and broken entities all get caught with the line and column where the parser gave up. When the XML is clean, the right pane draws the document tree — elements, their attributes, and text content, indented by depth — so you can eyeball the structure at a glance. Use it to validate XML online for config files, RSS and sitemaps, SVG, SOAP payloads, or any feed, without sending the contents to a server.
How it works
- 1
Paste the XML
Put your document, feed, or config in the left pane. The declaration line, namespaces, attributes, and nested elements are all parsed as written.
- 2
Watch the well-formed check
The status updates as you type. Well-formed XML shows an element count; a problem shows the reason — mismatched tag, unexpected character — with the line and column that failed.
- 3
Scan the document tree
When it parses cleanly, the right pane outlines every element with its attributes and text, indented by nesting depth, so you can confirm the shape is what you expected.
Instant & 100% private — nothing is uploaded
Everything runs locally in your browser. Your code, text and files are processed on your own device and are never sent to a server — so there are no upload waits, no size limits from us, and nothing is ever stored or logged.
Frequently asked questions
- What does an XML well-formed check actually test?
- Well-formed means the syntax is correct: every tag is closed, opening and closing tags match, attributes are quoted, there’s a single root element, and special characters are escaped. This is different from validity against a DTD or schema — this tool checks well-formedness, which is the first thing any XML parser requires.
- How do I find the error in a broken document?
- When the XML isn’t well-formed, the status line shows the parser’s reason and the exact line and column where it stopped. Mismatched tags usually point at the closing tag that doesn’t match its opener, which is where you start looking.
- Can this XML syntax checker handle RSS, sitemaps, and SVG?
- Yes — they’re all XML. Paste an RSS or Atom feed, a sitemap.xml, an SVG file, or a SOAP message and the same well-formed check applies. The tree preview then shows you the element hierarchy the file actually contains.
- Does it validate against a schema or DTD?
- No. It checks that the document is well-formed, not that it conforms to a specific XSD or DTD. Well-formedness is the prerequisite for schema validation, so fixing errors here is the first step regardless of which schema you target.
- Is my XML sent anywhere when I validate it online?
- No. The parsing runs locally in your browser, so the document never leaves your machine — useful when the XML holds credentials, endpoints, or customer data.
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