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XML Tools Plugin for Notepad++ — Online Formatter, Validator & XPath

If you use the XML Tools plugin in Notepad++ to pretty print, minify, or validate XML, this page gives you the same core actions in a fast, offline-in-the-browser tool. Paste XML, format or minify it, validate well-formedness, and run simple XPath queries.

Category: Developer · URL: /tools/xml-tools-plugin-notepad.html
Privacy: runs locally in your browser. No uploads, no tracking scripts.

How to use

Use it like the Notepad++ XML Tools plugin:

  1. Paste XML into Input XML.
  2. Choose Pretty Print or Minify (or click Validate first).
  3. Optional: enter an XPath expression and click Run XPath.
  4. Copy the result from Output.
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Secondary intents covered: Install the XML Tools plugin in Notepad++ via Plugins Admin, Pretty print / indent XML with 2 or 4 spaces, Minify XML by removing indentation and tag-to-tag whitespace, Validate whether an XML document is well-formed and locate parsing errors, Run an XPath expression and extract matching nodes or values, Copy cleaned XML output back into Notepad++, Troubleshoot namespace-related XPath queries, Handle large XML safely without freezing the page

FAQ

How do I install the XML Tools plugin in Notepad++?

In Notepad++, go to Plugins → Plugins Admin, search for XML Tools, install it, then restart Notepad++.

Does this tool replace Notepad++ XML Tools plugin?

It covers the common actions (format, minify, validate well-formedness, basic XPath), but it’s not a full Notepad++ plugin replacement.

What does “Validate” check here?

It checks that the XML is well-formed (parsable). It does not validate against an XSD/DTD schema.

Why does my XML format differently than Notepad++?

Different formatters serialize whitespace and self-closing tags slightly differently; the structure stays the same if the XML is well-formed.

My XPath with namespaces fails—what can I do?

Browser XPath needs prefix bindings; a quick workaround is using local-name() in the expression (for example: //*[local-name()="Item"]).

Will minify remove spaces inside text nodes?

No—minify only removes whitespace between tags (like > <), but it keeps text content as-is.

Is my XML uploaded anywhere?

No. The tool runs locally in your browser and does not make network requests.