Convert JSON to XML

Producing valid XML from JSON

Plenty of systems still require XML: payment gateways, government portals, e-invoicing standards, feeds and older enterprise software. Converting JSON to XML sounds simple, but XML has rules JSON does not: a single root element, names that cannot start with a digit or contain spaces, and a clear distinction between attributes and child elements.

This converter handles those rules for you. It adds an XML declaration, wraps the data in a root element when needed, repeats elements for arrays, turns keys that start with @ into attributes and cleans up names that XML would reject.

JSON vs XML at a glance

How to convert JSON to XML

1. 1

   Step 1: Choose a JSON file

   Drop a .json file onto the converter.

2. 2

   Step 2: XML is preselected

   Leave the target set to XML.

3. 3

   Step 3: Convert

   The JSON is mapped to elements and attributes and pretty-printed with two-space indentation.

4. 4

   Step 4: Download the XML

   Save the file and validate it against your schema if the receiving system has one.

Conversion rules

When JSON to XML is needed

• Integrations with XML APIs. Prepare request bodies for SOAP or XML-based services.

• Feeds and sitemaps. Generate XML structures from JSON data.

• E-invoicing and filings. Draft XML that you then align with the required schema.

• Legacy imports. Feed data to software that only reads XML.

How the root element is chosen

If your JSON is an object with exactly one key, such as { "catalog": { ... } }, that key becomes the root element. If the object has several top-level keys, or its only value is an array, everything is wrapped in a <root> element so the document stays valid.

A top-level array becomes <root> containing one <item> element per entry. Rename root and item in your editor if your target system expects different names.

• { "catalog": {...} } gives <catalog> as root.
• { "a": 1, "b": 2 } gives <root><a>1</a><b>2</b></root>.
• [ {...}, {...} ] gives <root><item>...</item></root>.

Round-tripping with XML to JSON

The @ prefix for attributes and #text for element text match what the XML to JSON converter produces, so you can convert XML to JSON, edit the data and convert it back.

Null values become empty self-closing elements. Special characters such as & and < in values are escaped automatically, so the output parses cleanly.

Tips for JSON to XML

• Use a single top-level key named after the root element your system expects.
• Mark attributes with @ in your JSON before converting.
• Validate the output against the XSD if one is provided.
• Avoid arrays of arrays; XML has no natural way to express them.

JSON to XML questions