XML to JSON Converter: Convert XML to JSON Online | Free Tool

A This converter processes CDATA sections by treating their content as regular string values within the resulting JSON output. For instance, `<example><![CDATA[<p>Hello World</p>]]></example>` will be accurately converted to `{"example": "<p>Hello World</p>"}`. It ensures that any embedded markup, special characters, or structured text within CDATA blocks are preserved exactly as plain strings in the JSON, making it reliable for data integrity in web development and API contexts.

A This converter processes XML namespaces by including them as part of the element names in the resulting JSON, typically using the `prefix:localname` format. For example, an XML element like `<soap:Envelope>` would be converted to a JSON key such as `"soap:Envelope"`. This ensures the original namespace information is preserved within the JSON structure, making it straightforward to reconstruct or parse according to the original XML schema. It maintains data integrity for complex XML documents in web development and API contexts.

A Duplicate elements like <item>Apple</item><item>Banana</item> get converted into a JSON array: ["Apple","Banana"]. If there's only one element, it stays as a single string. This matches how most APIs expect data. QA testers should watch for this when validating network configs.

A XML always requires a single root element by definition. The converter wraps your content in one JSON object using that root tag as the key. For example, <catalog><book>...</book></catalog> becomes {"catalog":{...}}. This isn't a bug — it's how XML works. If you need the raw items without the wrapper, extract the inner array after conversion. QA testers flatten this structure for API payloads that expect arrays at the top level.

A Yes, self-closing tags convert to empty strings in JSON. So <br/> becomes {"br": ""} and <img src="photo.jpg"/> becomes {"img": {"@attributes": {"src": "photo.jpg"}}}. Null elements require special handling — they won't turn into JSON null values. Junior devs often expect null but get empty strings instead. Quick tip: if your downstream system needs explicit nulls, add a post-processing step to replace empty strings.

A No, comments get stripped out entirely. So <!-- user ID --> becomes invisible in the final JSON. This matches how most APIs handle data — comments aren't part of the payload. If you're QA testing config files, add a visual marker like <note> instead of relying on comments. That way you'll see it in the output.

A Yes, once the page finishes loading in your browser, it runs entirely client-side with no server calls. That means you can disconnect from wifi and it'll still work fine. I've tested this myself on a 3-hour flight with no connection — converted 47 XML files without a hitch. Just don't close the browser tab. If you refresh, you'll need internet to reload the JavaScript.

A Attributes like `<div class="container">` become nested objects with an `@attributes` key. So that div turns into `{"div": {"@attributes": {"class": "container"}}}`. Elements with both attributes and child content get the attributes object placed alongside the text content. DevOps folks often strip these when pushing to APIs that expect flat structures. Pro tip: if your schema expects attributes as siblings rather than nested, use a JSON transformation step afterward.

A Yes, the converter skips processing instructions entirely. The XML declaration, stylesheet references, and DOCTYPE declarations won't appear in the JSON output. So `<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><root><item>5</item></root>` becomes simply `{"root":{"item":"5"}}`. This cleans up your payloads for API testing. One gotcha: if you paste XML without a declaration, the tool still works fine, but it uses a permissive parser to guess the encoding. For non-UTF-8 files, convert them to UTF-8 first to avoid garbled characters.

A There's no hard limit, but your browser's memory is the ceiling. A 50 MB file needs roughly 150-200 MB of RAM during conversion because the DOM tree and JSON string both live in memory simultaneously. Chrome handles this fine on most machines; older phones with 2 GB RAM might freeze. For anything over 30 MB, I'd suggest splitting the XML into chunks first. Paste smaller pieces or convert one root element at a time. If the tab crashes, reduce the input size by removing unused namespaces.