Convert XML to JSON Online

Quick Guide: Converting XML to JSON Online

To convert an XML file to JSON: (1) drag the .xml file into the upload box above, (2) select JSON as the output format, (3) click Download converted file. Each XML element becomes a JSON object, attributes are placed inside with an @ prefix, repeated tags become arrays. Files up to 50 MB, no signup, no email.

How XML Maps to JSON

The conversion follows the conventions used by mainstream libraries (xml2js, Badgerfish, Jackson XML). Here's how each construct is translated:

• Element → object key. <book>Title</book> → "book": "Title".
• Attribute → field with @ prefix. <book id="1"> → "@id": "1". Keeps attributes separate from child elements.
• Mixed content (text + attributes) → #text key. <book id="1">Title</book> → { "@id": "1", "#text": "Title" }.
• Repeated children → array. Three <item/> tags become "item": [ {}, {}, {} ]. A single occurrence stays as an object.
• Namespaces → preserved in keys. <soap:Envelope> → "soap:Envelope". No data loss.

Real Use Cases for XML to JSON

SOAP-to-REST API Migration

Most legacy enterprise APIs (SAP, Salesforce older endpoints, banking, government services) speak SOAP/XML. Modern frontends — React, Vue, Svelte, mobile apps — expect JSON. Convert the SOAP response to JSON once and your fetch/axios code drops in cleanly. Useful for proof-of-concept work, migration planning, and writing translation layers.

Importing into Document Databases

MongoDB, CouchDB, Elasticsearch, and DynamoDB all store JSON natively. When you need to bulk-load XML data — medical records (HL7), product catalogs, configuration backups — convert to JSON first, then run mongoimport or the equivalent. The dot-notation field structure of the converted JSON works directly with MongoDB query syntax.

RSS, Atom, and Feed Processing

RSS 2.0 and Atom feeds are XML, but most modern feed readers and aggregators consume JSON. Conversion lets you store, query, and serve feeds as JSON without writing a custom parser. Repeated <item> or <entry> elements become a clean array.

HL7 v2 and Healthcare Messages

Hospital information systems exchange data in HL7 v2 (pipe-delimited) and HL7 v3 / FHIR (XML). Converting the XML payloads to JSON makes them consumable by FHIR REST clients, web dashboards, and modern analytics tooling.

SVG, KML, and Other XML-Based Formats

SVG (vector graphics), KML (Google Earth), GPX (GPS tracks), MathML, and dozens of other formats are XML under the hood. Converting them to JSON makes the structure programmatically navigable from JavaScript with normal property access — no XML DOM API needed.

Example: SOAP Envelope → JSON

Source XML (typical SOAP response):

<soap:Envelope xmlns:soap="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/">
  <soap:Body>
    <GetUserResponse>
      <User id="42">
        <Name>Alice</Name>
        <Email>[email protected]</Email>
      </User>
    </GetUserResponse>
  </soap:Body>
</soap:Envelope>

Converted JSON:

{
  "soap:Envelope": {
    "@xmlns:soap": "http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/",
    "soap:Body": {
      "GetUserResponse": {
        "User": {
          "@id": "42",
          "Name": "Alice",
          "Email": "[email protected]"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Drop the JSON straight into a JavaScript app, parse with JSON.parse(), and access data['soap:Envelope']['soap:Body'].GetUserResponse.User.Name.

XML vs JSON: When to Use Which

JSON is lighter and matches JavaScript's data model, which is why every modern web API uses it. XML is still preferred for documents (it allows mixed content and rich schemas), legacy enterprise systems, and finance / healthcare / government data formats.

Online Converter vs Desktop Total XML Converter

For ad-hoc XML-to-JSON jobs the online converter is the fastest. For continuous data pipelines (nightly feeds, build-time fixture generation, sensitive enterprise data) install the desktop Total XML Converter.

Common Issues and Fixes

• "Invalid XML" error. Source isn't well-formed (unclosed tag, bad encoding). Validate with any XML editor first.
• Output has lots of @ and #text noise. That's how attributes and mixed content are encoded. If your downstream code doesn't need attributes, post-process the JSON to strip @-prefixed keys.
• Single child element wrapped as object instead of array. By design — the converter only creates an array when an element repeats. If your code always expects an array, normalize on the consumer side: Array.isArray(x) ? x : [x].
• Numbers come out as strings. XML has no native types — everything is text. JSON output preserves the source. Cast in your code (parseInt, parseFloat) if needed.