Xml to JSON
Free XML to JSON Converter to parse XML into clean JSON, mapping elements to properties, repeated elements to arrays, and attributes to keys.
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The XML to JSON Converter turns XML into clean JSON — mapping elements to properties, repeated elements to arrays, and attributes to prefixed keys. It lets you take data from a SOAP API, RSS feed, or legacy system and work with it in the JSON that modern JavaScript and APIs prefer. Paste, convert, and copy. Free, private, and processed in your browser.
Bring XML Data Into the JSON World
Modern development runs on JSON, but plenty of data still arrives as XML — SOAP web services, RSS feeds, enterprise systems, configuration files. This converter parses that XML and translates it into JSON your code can handle naturally, so you can consume an old format and process it in a new one without writing parsing logic by hand.
How to Use It
- Paste your XML into the input.
- Convert — elements, attributes, and text are mapped.
- Copy the JSON for your application.
Why It's Harder Than It Looks
An honest truth most tools won't tell you: XML to JSON is not a clean one-to-one conversion. The two formats model data differently. XML carries concepts JSON simply doesn't have — attributes, namespaces, comments, CDATA, mixed content, and element ordering — while JSON offers only objects, arrays, strings, numbers, booleans, and null. So every converter must make decisions about how to represent XML's extras, and knowing those decisions is what lets you trust the result.
How Attributes Are Preserved
XML attributes — an id, a currency, a role — encode real data, yet many naive parsers silently drop them. A good converter keeps them using a clear convention: attribute keys are prefixed with @ (so an id becomes @id) and an element's text content is stored under #text. This places attribute data right alongside the element's other properties, with no loss.
The Array Ambiguity Problem
This is the classic XML-to-JSON trap. Because XML has no arrays — only repeated elements — a single occurrence is ambiguous: is one <item> an array of one, or just a value? Different converters answer differently, which breaks code expecting a consistent type. When item is sometimes a string and sometimes an array, your iteration logic fails. The robust approach is to always treat repeatable elements as arrays, so your code can loop reliably whether there's one item or many.
Watch Out for Types
XML stores everything as text, so type inference matters. Without it, 30 and true arrive in your JSON as strings, and a string "true" can quietly fail a boolean check downstream. After converting, verify that numbers and booleans are real JSON types where your logic depends on them, rather than assuming the conversion inferred them.
An Honest Note on Information Loss
Because JSON can't represent namespaces, comments, CDATA, or guaranteed ordering, those XML features may be dropped or flattened in conversion — and a round trip (XML → JSON → XML) often won't reproduce the original exactly. For ordinary data-centric XML this is perfectly fine; for document-centric XML with rich markup, expect some loss and plan accordingly. Free, with no signup, and all in your browser.
XML to JSON FAQs
How do I convert XML to JSON?
Paste your XML and the tool parses it, mapping elements to JSON object properties, text to values, repeated elements to arrays, and attributes to specially-prefixed keys. Then copy the JSON. It lets you take data from an XML source — a SOAP API, an RSS feed, a legacy system — and turn it into the JSON that modern JavaScript and APIs prefer.
Why isn't XML to JSON a simple one-to-one conversion?
Because the two formats model data differently. XML has features JSON lacks entirely — attributes, namespaces, comments, CDATA, mixed content, and implicit element ordering. JSON has just objects, arrays, strings, numbers, booleans, and null. There's no perfect 1:1 mapping, so any converter has to make decisions about how to represent XML's extra concepts in JSON. Understanding those decisions helps you trust the output.
How are XML attributes handled?
Since JSON has no concept of attributes, the common convention is to prefix attribute keys with an @ symbol so they sit alongside the element's other data — for example, an id attribute becomes '@id'. The element's text content is often stored under a '#text' key. This is important because many naive parsers simply drop attributes, silently losing real data, so a good converter preserves them with a clear convention.
What is the array ambiguity problem?
It's the trickiest part of XML to JSON. XML has no arrays — just repeated elements — so a single occurrence is ambiguous: is one
Will numbers and booleans become real JSON types?
Not always automatically, and this is a common gotcha. XML stores everything as text, so '30' and 'true' are just strings unless the converter applies type inference. Without it, a value like 'true' arrives as a string and can fail a boolean check in your code. Be prepared to verify or convert types after the conversion, especially for data feeding into typed logic.
Does converting XML to JSON lose any information?
It can. Because JSON doesn't support namespaces, comments, CDATA, or guaranteed element ordering, those aspects of XML may be dropped or flattened. A round trip — XML to JSON and back to XML — often doesn't reproduce the original exactly. For straightforward data XML this is fine; for document-centric XML with rich markup, expect some loss.
Why convert XML to JSON?
Mainly to work with XML data in modern environments. JavaScript and most current APIs handle JSON far more naturally than XML, so teams convert at the boundary — consuming a SOAP or legacy XML response, then processing it as JSON. It's also common during migrations from XML-based systems to JSON-based ones.
Is the tool free and private?
Yes. Conversion runs in your browser, so your data stays on your device, and it's free with no signup. Paste, convert, and copy.