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WSDL Formatter

Make machine-generated WSDL readable — messages, portTypes, bindings and services cleanly indented and explorable.

In short

Format WSDL online: beautify service definitions with clean indentation, validate structure, and explore bindings, ports and operations in a tree. Free.

By NaveenKumar T · Updated

Learn: XML Namespaces Explained: Prefixes, Default Namespaces and Common Errors

  • WSDL-aware sample data
  • Namespace-safe formatting
  • Tree view of operations

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Example

WSDL Formatter: input and output

A single-operation WSDL contract (GetStock) — small enough to read end-to-end once formatted.

Input · xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><definitions name="InventoryService" targetNamespace="https://example.com/inventory" xmlns="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/wsdl/" xmlns:soap="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/wsdl/soap/" xmlns:tns="https://example.com/inventory" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"><message name="GetStockRequest"><part name="sku" type="xsd:string"/></message><message name="GetStockResponse"><part name="quantity" type="xsd:int"/></message><portType name="InventoryPort"><operation name="GetStock"><input message="tns:GetStockRequest"/><output message="tns:GetStockResponse"/></operation></portType><binding name="InventoryBinding" type="tns:InventoryPort"><soap:binding style="rpc" transport="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/http"/><operation name="GetStock"><soap:operation soapAction="GetStock"/></operation></binding><service name="InventoryService"><port name="InventoryPort" binding="tns:InventoryBinding"><soap:address location="https://example.com/inventory"/></port></service></definitions>
Output · xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<definitions name="InventoryService" targetNamespace="https://example.com/inventory" xmlns="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/wsdl/" xmlns:soap="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/wsdl/soap/" xmlns:tns="https://example.com/inventory" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">
  <message name="GetStockRequest">
    <part name="sku" type="xsd:string"/>
  </message>
  <message name="GetStockResponse">
    <part name="quantity" type="xsd:int"/>
  </message>
  <portType name="InventoryPort">
    <operation name="GetStock">
      <input message="tns:GetStockRequest"/>
      <output message="tns:GetStockResponse"/>
    </operation>
  </portType>
  <binding name="InventoryBinding" type="tns:InventoryPort">
    <soap:binding style="rpc" transport="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/http"/>
    <operation name="GetStock">
      <soap:operation soapAction="GetStock"/>
    </operation>
  </binding>
  <service name="InventoryService">
    <port name="InventoryPort" binding="tns:InventoryBinding">
      <soap:address location="https://example.com/inventory"/>
    </port>
  </service>
</definitions>

The four WSDL sections — message, portType, binding and service — each land on their own indented block, so tracing GetStock from its request message to its SOAP address takes four clicks instead of a horizontal scroll.

Learn more

Working with WSDL definitions

WSDL is the contract of a SOAP service: which operations exist, what messages they exchange, and where the endpoint lives. When integrating against one, you constantly answer questions like 'what are this operation's input parts?' — questions that take seconds in formatted markup with a tree, and minutes in a generated one-liner.

Formatting is namespace-safe: prefixes, targetNamespace declarations, and schema imports are preserved exactly; only insignificant whitespace changes.

Reading a WSDL quickly

Start at <service> for the endpoint URL, follow its binding to see the protocol and SOAP actions, then read the portType for the abstract operations and their messages. With the tree view, that's four clicks — collapse everything else and the contract fits on one screen. Once the contract is readable, generate client models from a sample response with XML to Java or XML to C#, and format the envelopes you send with the SOAP formatter.

Help

Frequently asked questions

Everything you need to know about the WSDL Formatter.

01How do I use the WSDL Formatter?

Paste the WSDL (or fetch its URL — many services expose ?wsdl endpoints) and press Format. The definition re-indents cleanly; use Tree view to navigate messages, portTypes, bindings and services without scrolling.

02Why are WSDL files so hard to read raw?

They're generated, not written: single-line output, heavy namespace prefixes, and four interlocking sections (messages, portTypes, bindings, services) that reference each other. Formatting restores the visual structure, and the tree view turns cross-references into navigable branches.

03Can I fetch a WSDL straight from its ?wsdl URL?

Often, but not always. The URL loader fetches from your browser, so the service must allow cross-origin requests; many enterprise endpoints don't send the CORS headers, and the fetch fails even though the URL opens fine in a tab. When that happens, open the ?wsdl URL, save the page as a file, and drop it onto the editor instead.

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