JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a lightweight data interchange format that is easy for humans to read and write, and easy for machines to parse and generate. It is based on a subset of the JavaScript programming language but is language-independent, with support in virtually all modern programming languages. JSON stores data as key-value pairs and supports strings, numbers, booleans, arrays, objects, and null.
XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a markup language designed to encode documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable. XML's design goals emphasize simplicity, generality, and usability across the Internet. It supports custom tags, attributes, namespaces, and Schema validation, making it well-suited for representing data with complex hierarchical structures.
This JSON/XML converter is simple to use and feature-rich. Here is a detailed guide:
JSON to XML Conversion: Paste or type JSON data into the left input box (or upload a file), then click the "JSON β XML" button. The tool will automatically convert JSON to its XML equivalent. If "Pretty print" is enabled, the output will be automatically indented for readability. JSON keys become XML tag names, and array elements generate repeated tags with the same name. Keys starting with @ are converted to XML attributes.
XML to JSON Conversion: Paste or type XML data into the left input box, then click the "XML β JSON" button. The tool will convert XML to JSON format. XML tag contents become JSON values, and attributes are represented with an @ prefix (e.g., <book id="1"> becomes {"@id": "1", ...}). If "Auto-detect format" is enabled, the tool intelligently recognizes the input type and provides guidance.
File Upload and Download: Click the "Choose File" button to upload a local .json or .xml file; the tool will automatically read its contents. After conversion, click "Download" to save the result as a file. For batch processing, you can merge multiple JSON/XML fragments before converting them together.
Minify Mode: When "Minify" is enabled, all whitespace characters (spaces, newlines, indentation) are removed from the output, producing a single compact line. This is extremely useful when embedding results in URL parameters or storing in databases. Pretty print and minify modes are mutually exclusive.
JSON/XML conversion is widely used in web development, data integration, and system migration. Here are some typical scenarios:
API Data Format Conversion: Modern REST APIs typically return JSON, but many enterprise systems (such as SOAP services and legacy APIs) still use XML. When integrating front-end and back-end systems or communicating between microservices, conversion between JSON and XML is often required. This tool helps developers quickly test and validate conversion logic to ensure data is correctly passed between systems.
Configuration File Migration: Many traditional applications use XML for configuration (e.g., Spring Boot's application.xml, Android's AndroidManifest.xml), while modern applications and DevOps toolchains prefer JSON (e.g., package.json, tsconfig.json). When migrating projects or integrating different technology stacks, XML configurations need to be converted to JSON. This tool can quickly handle such format migrations.
Data Integration and ETL: In data warehouse and data lake construction, ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) processes often need to handle data in different formats. XML and JSON are the two most common data exchange formats. Data engineers can use this tool to quickly preview and validate conversion results and troubleshoot format compatibility issues. For example, converting database query results (in JSON format) to XML for import into BI tools that require XML input.
Test Data Preparation: Developers often need large amounts of JSON/XML test data when writing unit or integration tests. This tool helps quickly generate test data in specific formats or batch-convert existing JSON test data to XML to cover different test scenarios and API contracts.
JSON Specification Essentials: JSON data consists of key-value pairs where keys must be enclosed in double quotes (single quotes are not valid in standard JSON). Values can be strings, numbers, booleans (true/false), null, arrays (denoted by square brackets []), or objects (denoted by curly braces {}). JSON does not support comments or trailing commas. This tool will show specific error messages with location details when format errors are detected.
XML Specification Essentials: XML documents must have exactly one root element. All tags must be properly closed (self-closing tags use <tag /> syntax). Attribute values must be enclosed in quotes (single or double). XML is case-sensitive, and tag names cannot contain spaces. Special characters (such as <, >, &) must be entity-encoded (<, >, &). This tool automatically handles these encoding conversions.
Related Tools: In addition to JSON/XML conversion, we offer JSON formatting, XML formatting, JSON/YAML conversion, JSON/CSV conversion, JSON validation, and many other data format tools. For more complex data transformation needs, consider combining this tool with our regex tester, text diff tool, and code formatter to build a complete data processing workflow.
JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a lightweight data interchange format with a simple structure and fast parsing speed, making it the preferred choice for modern Web APIs. XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a markup language that supports attributes, namespaces, and Schema validation, offering a more rigorous structure suitable for complex enterprise-level data exchange. Both have their strengths, with many legacy systems still using XML while newer systems prefer JSON.
Absolutely. This tool runs entirely in your browser with all processing happening locally on your device. No data is ever sent to or stored on any server. You can safely process sensitive or confidential data.
The tool supports JSON/XML files up to several megabytes. Since all processing happens client-side, the actual limit depends on your browser and device performance. For the best experience, we recommend processing files under 10MB.
When converting XML to JSON, attributes are prefixed with '@' (e.g., <book id="1"> becomes { "@id": "1", ... }). When converting JSON to XML, keys starting with '@' are converted back to XML attributes. This is the industry-standard conversion convention.
If you encounter conversion issues, first verify that your input data is properly formatted. JSON requires double-quoted keys (single quotes are not valid in standard JSON), and XML must be well-formed with properly closed tags. The tool will show specific error messages when it detects syntax issues.
Currently, the tool processes one file at a time. You can input data via copy-paste or file upload, and download the result after conversion. For batch needs, consider merging multiple JSON/XML files before converting.
Yes, full Unicode support is provided. Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and all other Unicode characters are preserved and handled correctly in both JSON and XML data.
No, namespace declarations are not included by default. When converting JSON to XML, the root element is <root>, and inner elements are generated according to the JSON structure. If you need specific namespaces, you can add them manually after conversion.