JSON to XML Converter

What Is the JSON to XML Converter?

This tool converts a parsed JSON value into XML markup, recursively turning each key into a tag and each array into repeated tags sharing the parent key's name -- a common, unambiguous convention for representing JSON data in XML form.

How to Use This Tool

Enter a root tag name and paste a JSON object or array. The resulting indented XML appears instantly.

How the Conversion Works

Worked Example

Practical Uses

• Converting a JSON API response into XML for a legacy system that requires it
• Generating test XML data quickly from JSON you already have
• Learning how JSON and XML structures map onto each other

To go the other direction, see the XML to JSON Converter.

Nested Structures and Array Handling in Practice

Take a hypothetical object with a name, an address object containing a city, and an orders array holding two objects that each have an id. With root tag "customer", the output opens a customer element, then a name element with its text, then an address element containing a city element, then two separate orders elements, each holding an id element. The array does not get a wrapper such as orders followed by order children; instead the orders tag simply repeats. Objects add one indentation level of two spaces to the lines inside them, so deep structures are easy to read, and each element has its own opening and closing tag.

How Values Are Written

Strings, numbers and booleans are written as text inside their element, using ordinary string conversion, so true appears as the word true and 12.5 as 12.5. A null value is written as the text null rather than an empty element, which matters if the receiving system expects empty tags for missing data. Ampersands, less-than signs and greater-than signs in values are escaped, but quotation marks are left alone, which is valid inside element text. An empty array produces no output at all for that key, so a key holding an empty list simply vanishes from the XML.

Key Names Become Tag Names

This is the most common source of trouble. The tool does not check or repair key names, so whatever is in the JSON key is used directly as the tag name. XML tag names cannot contain spaces, cannot start with a digit, and cannot include many symbols. A key like "first name" or "2fa" will therefore produce markup that a strict XML parser rejects. Rename such keys to letters, digits, underscores or hyphens beginning with a letter before converting. The root tag field works the same way: choose a valid name, and if you leave it blank the tool falls back to "root".

Top-Level Arrays Produce Multiple Roots

When the outermost JSON value is an array, each item becomes a sibling element named after the root tag. A well-formed XML document may have only one root element, so a result with several top-level siblings is not a complete document by itself. To get a single valid document, wrap the array in an object first, for example an object with one key called items, and choose a root tag for the wrapper. Primitive top-level values such as a bare number or string are rejected.

Common Mistakes

• Expecting attributes. Everything becomes an element, so there is no way to produce an id attribute on a tag.
• Forgetting there is no XML declaration at the top. Add one yourself if your consumer requires it.
• Assuming a round trip reproduces the JSON exactly. Numbers come back as text, and single-item arrays come back as single values, because XML cannot distinguish them.
• Using invalid JSON, such as single-quoted strings or trailing commas, which produces an invalid input message.

Sanity Checks Before You Send the Result On

Paste the output into the XML Formatter to confirm the structure reads as intended, then validate it against the schema or example your receiving system provided. Every downstream system has its own naming and typing rules, so treat this output as a starting point that follows a common convention rather than a guaranteed match for any particular format.

Frequently Asked Questions