XML to JSON Converter

How to Use the XML to JSON Converter

1. Paste XML: Enter or paste your XML document into the left panel. The converter supports all standard XML features including attributes, namespaces, and CDATA sections.
2. Convert: Click "Convert" to parse the XML and transform it into JSON format. The converter handles nested elements, attributes, and text content automatically.
3. Format output: Click "Format JSON" to beautify the JSON with proper indentation for easier reading and debugging.
4. Copy result: Use "Copy JSON" to copy the converted JSON to your clipboard for use in your applications.

What is XML?

XML (eXtensible Markup Language) is a markup language that defines rules for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable. XML was designed to store and transport data with a focus on simplicity and usability. Unlike HTML, XML tags are not predefined - you create your own tags based on your data structure.

XML has been a standard for data exchange since the late 1990s and is still widely used in enterprise systems, SOAP web services, configuration files, and document formats like Microsoft Office files. While JSON has become more popular for web APIs, XML remains essential for many legacy systems and industries.

XML to JSON Conversion Rules

Elements: XML elements become JSON objects. The element name becomes the key, and the content becomes the value. Nested elements create nested JSON objects.

Attributes: XML attributes are converted to JSON properties prefixed with "@" to distinguish them from child elements. For example, <item id="1"> becomes {"item": {"@id": "1"}}.

Text content: If an element has both attributes and text content, the text is stored in a special "#text" property.

Multiple elements: When multiple sibling elements have the same name, they're converted to a JSON array.

Empty elements: Self-closing tags like <empty/> are converted to null or empty string values.

Common Use Cases

SOAP to REST: Convert SOAP XML responses to JSON for use with modern REST APIs or JavaScript applications.

Legacy system integration: Transform XML data from older systems into JSON for use with newer applications.

Configuration migration: Convert XML configuration files to JSON for applications that prefer JSON-based configuration.

Data analysis: Transform XML datasets into JSON for processing with modern data analysis tools that work better with JSON.

XML Structure Basics

Root element: Every XML document must have exactly one root element that contains all other elements.

Tags: Elements are defined by opening and closing tags: <name>value</name>. Tags must be properly nested.

Attributes: Elements can have attributes in the opening tag: <person age="30">.

Case sensitive: Unlike HTML, XML is case-sensitive. <Name> and <name> are different elements.

Why Convert XML to JSON?

Web compatibility: JSON is the native data format for JavaScript, making it ideal for web applications and browser-based tools.

Simplicity: JSON has a simpler syntax than XML, with less verbosity and easier parsing in most modern programming languages.

API standards: Most modern REST APIs use JSON as the default data format, so converting XML makes integration easier.

File size: JSON files are typically smaller than equivalent XML files due to less markup overhead.

Related Tools

Need to format XML? Use the XML Formatter. Also format JSON output with the JSON Formatter or convert JSON to other formats with the JSON to YAML Converter.