Converters

CSV to XML Converter

Rows to records: every CSV line becomes a <row> element with header-named children, in one well-formed document.

In short

Convert CSV to XML online: each row becomes a <row> element with header-named children, wrapped in a root element with declaration. Free and instant.

By NaveenKumar T · Updated 18 Sep 2026

Learn: How to Convert CSV to JSON in JavaScript, Python and the Browser

Instant in-browser conversion
Validates input first
Header names become element tags

Runs entirely in your browser — nothing you paste or open here is uploaded, logged, or stored.How we handle data →

Example

CSV to XML: input and output

Race results whose headers contain spaces and a leading digit, with an empty cell, a quoted name containing a comma, and club names containing an ampersand, angle brackets and an apostrophe.

Input · CSV

bib no,name,club,finish time,1st lap
17,Amara Okafor,Bath & Wells AC,00:42:11,00:20:05
42,"Reyes, Luis",,00:44:58,00:21:40
88,Sam O'Neil,Wessex <Harriers>,DNF,

Output · XML

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rows>
  <row>
    <bib_no>17</bib_no>
    <name>Amara Okafor</name>
    <club>Bath &amp; Wells AC</club>
    <finish_time>00:42:11</finish_time>
    <_1st_lap>00:20:05</_1st_lap>
  </row>
  <row>
    <bib_no>42</bib_no>
    <name>Reyes, Luis</name>
    <club nil="true"/>
    <finish_time>00:44:58</finish_time>
    <_1st_lap>00:21:40</_1st_lap>
  </row>
  <row>
    <bib_no>88</bib_no>
    <name>Sam O&apos;Neil</name>
    <club>Wessex &lt;Harriers&gt;</club>
    <finish_time>DNF</finish_time>
    <_1st_lap nil="true"/>
  </row>
</rows>

Headers became tag names — bib no turned into <bib_no> and 1st lap into <_1st_lap> because a tag cannot start with a digit. The empty cells became nil="true" elements, and the ampersand, angle brackets and apostrophe in the club names were entity-escaped so the document stays well-formed.

Learn more

How CSV to XML conversion works

The CSV is parsed header-first (with full quoting support), then serialized as XML: a <rows> root contains one <row> element per data line, and inside each row every column becomes an element named after its header — sanitized to be tag-legal where needed. Typed values (numbers, booleans) serialize as their text forms, and all content is entity-escaped.

The document begins with the UTF-8 XML declaration and consistent two-space indentation, ready for XSLT, schema validation, or legacy ingestion.

When to convert CSV to XML

Feeding tabular exports into XML-only systems: enterprise importers, SOAP endpoints, print/document pipelines built on XSLT. Rather than hand-writing a template around your data, convert mechanically and adjust the wrapper names downstream if a schema demands different element names.

Help

Frequently asked questions

Everything you need to know about the CSV to XML.

01Can I choose a name other than <row> or <rows> for the wrapper elements?

Not on this page — the wrapper names <rows> and <row> are fixed, and only the inner element names (taken from your CSV header) can be customised, by editing the header row before converting. Most XML consumers don't care what a wrapper is called; if yours does, a find-and-replace on <rows>/<row> after downloading is simpler than working around it here.

02Can I control the element names in the XML?

The element names come from your CSV header row — rename the headers and you rename the tags. Characters illegal in XML names (spaces, slashes) become underscores automatically. The <rows>/<row> wrappers are fixed; most consumers accept them or remap with one XSLT line.

03What happens to empty cells, typed values, and special characters?

An empty cell is parsed as null and written as a self-closing element flagged nil="true" (<club nil="true"/>), so downstream code can tell missing from empty-string. Numeric-looking cells are typed first and then written back as text, which means leading zeros disappear (00042 becomes <id>42</id>). Ampersands, angle brackets, quotes and apostrophes in values are entity-escaped — A & B <Co> becomes A & B <Co> — and a quoted CSV field containing a comma comes through as ordinary text. A header such as 1st lap becomes <_1st_lap>.

04Does converting back with XML to CSV recover the same rows?

Only when the XML still has the <rows>/<row> shape this page produces: each <row>'s children become CSV columns again, in the same header order. If the XML was hand-edited in between — the wrapper renamed, a sibling element added, or a root attribute introduced — XML to CSV can no longer unwrap it automatically, and the whole document collapses into one wide row instead.

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