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XML Escape / Unescape
Paste text to make it safe inside an XML element or attribute, or paste escaped XML to turn the entities back into readable characters. Results update as you type and nothing leaves your browser.
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How to use the XML Escape / Unescape
- Choose Escape, Unescape or Wrap in CDATA.
- Paste your text into the left box (or click Sample).
- Pick where the text will go: element text or an attribute, and how to handle non-ASCII characters.
- Read the result on the right, with a count of every replacement.
- Copy or download the output, or click Swap to reverse it.
XML special characters
| Character | Entity | Numeric reference | Must be escaped |
|---|---|---|---|
| & | & | & | Always (text and attributes) |
| < | < | < | Always (text and attributes) |
| > | > | > | Only in "]]>" in text; escaping it everywhere is common and harmless |
| " | " | " | Inside attributes delimited by double quotes |
| ' | ' | ' | Inside attributes delimited by single quotes |
Escaping by context
| Where the text goes | Input | Escaped |
|---|---|---|
| Element text | 5 < 7 & "ok" | <n>5 < 7 & "ok"</n> |
| Double-quoted attribute | say "hi" | title="say "hi"" |
| Single-quoted attribute | it's | title='it's' |
| CDATA section | a < b && c | <![CDATA[a < b && c]]> |
Tips
- Escape exactly once. Running escape twice turns & into &amp;, a common bug when text passes through two layers of code.
- In code, prefer your XML library's serializer (for example DOM APIs, ElementTree or System.Xml) over hand-written string replacement: it escapes correctly for the context automatically.
- XML is not HTML: the only named entities are the five above. For HTML text use the HTML Entity Encoder / Decoder.
Frequently asked questions
Which characters must be escaped in XML?
The ampersand (&) and the less-than sign (<) must always be escaped in text and attribute values. The greater-than sign must be escaped when it appears in the sequence ]]> in text, and quotes must be escaped inside an attribute delimited by the same quote character. Escaping all five is always safe.
What are the five predefined XML entities?
& for &, < for <, > for >, " for " and ' for '. They are the only named entities XML defines without a DTD.
Why does give an error in XML?
and other names such as © are HTML entities, not XML ones. In XML write the numeric reference instead:   for a non-breaking space or © for ©, or simply use the character itself in UTF-8.
Should I use CDATA or escaping?
Both produce the same data. CDATA is convenient for large blocks with many < and & characters, such as code snippets. Escaping works everywhere, including attributes, where CDATA is not allowed.
Why are tabs and line breaks escaped in attributes?
XML parsers normalise attribute values, turning literal tabs and line breaks into spaces. Writing them as 	, and keeps them intact.
Which characters are not allowed in XML at all?
XML 1.0 forbids control characters U+0000 to U+001F except tab, line feed and carriage return, plus U+FFFE, U+FFFF and unpaired surrogates. They cannot appear even as numeric references, so this tool removes them by default.
Are all the tools on FreeToolCabin tested for quality and accuracy?
Yes! Every tool on our site undergoes automated Q/A testing in real browser environments to ensure high precision, correct output, and zero errors. If you happen to spot a bug or have a suggestion, please contact us at [email protected] and our team will review it right away.
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