XML Viewer
Explore XML as a collapsible tree of elements and attributes. It runs entirely on your device — nothing is uploaded.
Example
Paste XML to explore it as a collapsible element tree.
How it works
The XML is parsed and rendered as an interactive tree; attributes show as @name and you can expand or collapse nodes.
Good to know
XML Viewer turns a flat wall of XML text into an interactive, collapsible tree so you can see the document's structure at a glance. Instead of scrolling through deeply nested tags, you get a hierarchy you can expand and collapse node by node, with attributes shown as @name entries attached to their parent elements. It's aimed at developers, integration engineers, and anyone debugging API responses, config files, RSS/Atom feeds, SOAP payloads, or sitemaps who needs to understand nesting and find a specific value fast.
Reach for it when an XML payload is too large or too tangled to read in raw form, when you're trying to confirm which elements are children of which parent, or when you need to verify whether an attribute lives on the right node. Because it parses on your device, it's also a safe choice for inspecting XML that contains credentials, internal endpoints, or customer data that you don't want to paste into a remote service.
To read the result, treat each indented row as a node: clicking a parent expands or collapses everything beneath it, repeating tag names indicate a list of sibling elements (for example multiple <item> entries under a single parent), and the @-prefixed rows are attributes rather than child elements. If the tree fails to render or shows an error, that usually means the XML isn't well-formed — a missing closing tag, an unescaped &, or more than one root element.
A practical tip: this is a read-only structural viewer, not a formatter, validator, or editor. Use it to navigate and understand a document, then switch to the related XML Formatter to reindent it, the XML Validator to check it against rules, or the XML Editor to make changes. For very large files, collapse top-level branches first and drill in only where you need to, which keeps the tree manageable.
Frequently asked questions
Is my data uploaded anywhere?
No — everything runs in your browser. Your code never leaves your device, so it's safe for private work and runs offline once loaded.
Is this tool free?
Yes, completely free with no sign-up and no limits.
People also ask
What is the difference between an XML viewer and an XML formatter?
A viewer renders XML as an interactive, collapsible tree so you can navigate and understand its structure, expanding only the branches you care about. A formatter rewrites the raw text with consistent indentation and line breaks but still leaves you reading it as plain text.
How do attributes appear in the XML tree?
Attributes are shown as separate rows prefixed with @ and the attribute name, attached to the element they belong to. This keeps them visually distinct from child elements, which appear as nested tag names underneath the parent.
Why does my XML fail to display as a tree?
The tree only renders well-formed XML, so a parse error usually points to a structural problem such as an unclosed tag, mismatched tags, an unescaped special character like & or <, or having more than one root element. Fixing the markup so it has exactly one properly nested root typically resolves it.
Can I view very large XML files in the browser?
You can, since parsing happens locally, but extremely large documents may render slowly because the whole tree is built in memory. Collapsing top-level nodes and expanding only the sections you need keeps navigation responsive.
Does XML need a single root element?
Yes. A well-formed XML document must have exactly one top-level root element that contains all other elements; multiple sibling elements at the top level make the document invalid and it will not parse into a single tree.
Can I edit XML in the viewer?
No, this tool is read-only and is meant for inspecting and navigating structure rather than changing content. To modify the document, use a dedicated XML editor, and to reindent it use an XML formatter.
Is it safe to paste sensitive XML into this tool?
The tool parses and renders entirely in your browser, so the XML you paste is not uploaded to any server. That makes it suitable for inspecting payloads that contain private or internal data, though you should still follow your own organization's handling policies.
What kinds of XML files is a tree viewer useful for?
It's helpful for any nested XML, including API and SOAP responses, RSS and Atom feeds, configuration files, build manifests, sitemaps, and document formats like SVG. The deeper the nesting, the more a collapsible tree helps you locate specific elements and values.
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