How to Pretty Print XML from the Command Line?

To pretty print XML from the command line, we can employ two methods, xmllint and XMLStarlet. With xmllint, included in the libxml2-utils package. Alternatively, XMLStarlet, a command-line XML toolkit, offers the format subcommand to achieve the same result, enhancing XML file presentation.

Below are the approaches to pretty print XML from the command line:

Using xmllint

The xmllint utility, part of the xmllib2 package, is commonly pre-installed on Linux distributions. If you need a simple and widely available solution, go with xmllint. It offers the --format option to reformat and reindent XML files. It is a versatile tool commonly used for checking XML validity, parsing XML files, and evaluating XPath expressions.

Example: The example shows the pretty print XML from the command line using xmllint.

<data>
  <record>
    <name>Alice</name> <age>30</age></record>
  <record>
    <name>Bob</name><age>25</age>
  </record></data>

Run the command to produce a formatted version of the XML file:

 xmllint --format data.xml 

Output:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<data>
  <record>
    <name>Alice</name>
    <age>30</age>
  </record>
  <record>
    <name>Bob</name>
    <age>25</age>
  </record>
</data>

Using the XMLStarlet Toolkit

XMLStarlet offers a wider range of functionalities for XML processing. These include XML transformation, querying data within the XML, validating its structure, and even editing the contents. For pretty-printing, it utilizes the xml format subcommand. It offers other formatting options like omitting the XML declaration or using tabs for indentation.

For Installation of XMLStarlet Toolkit:

 sudo apt install xmlstarlet

Example: The example shows the pretty print XML from the command line of the XMLStarlet Toolkit.

<emails><email><from>Elon</from><to>Jeff</to>
  <time>2024-04-21</time><subject>
      Space Travel Partnership
  </subject><content>Hey Jeff, I've been 
  exploring some fascinating articles on
  GeeksforGeeks related 
  to space travel. 
  </content></email>
  <email><from>Sundar</from><to>Tim</to><time>
    2024-04-22</time><subject>AI Collaboration
    </subject>
    <content>Hi Tim, I believe our companies can
     achieve great synergy through AI collaboration. 
      </content></email></emails>

Run the command to produce a formatted version of the XML file:

xml format emails.xml 

Output:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<emails>
    <email>
        <from>Elon</from>
        <to>Jeff</to>
        <time>2024-04-21</time>
        <subject>Space Travel Partnership</subject>
        <content>Hey Jeff, I've been exploring some fascinating articles on GeeksforGeeks related to space travel.</content>
    </email>
    <email>
        <from>Sundar</from>
        <to>Tim</to>
        <time>2024-04-22</time>
        <subject>AI Collaboration</subject>
        <content>Hi Tim, I believe our companies can achieve great synergy through AI collaboration.</content>
    </email>
</emails>