The is a reliable, lightweight, and highly practical tool for anyone who regularly edits, validates, or transforms XML. While it lacks advanced XSLT 2.0 support and a graphical XML tree view, its speed, ease of use, and tight integration with Notepad++ make it the best choice for quick XML tasks on Windows.
If you don't have an internet connection or are using an older version of Notepad++ without Plugins Admin, you can install the XML Tools plugin manually:
The standard XML Tools plugin includes support for XSLT (Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations) based on Microsoft's MSXML processor, which generally supports XSLT 1.0 and some 2.0 features. This allows you to run an XSLT stylesheet against an XML document and view the output directly within Notepad++. xml tools plugin for notepad
If you touch XML files more than once a week, install XML Tools today. Your eyes (and your team) will thank you.
If you regularly edit configurations, inspect data payloads, or manage localized application assets, utilizing this utility transforms Notepad++ into a lean, powerful alternative to bulky integrated development environments. The is a reliable, lightweight, and highly practical
: Even without a schema, it can perform a "sanity check" to ensure your XML is well-formed (e.g., checking for unquoted attributes or illegal characters). Quick Setup Guide
You don’t want to dig through menus every time. Go to and assign your most-used XML Tools actions to hotkeys. For example: This allows you to run an XSLT stylesheet
Boost your productivity by mastering these default hotkeys mapped to the most common plugin actions: Action Purpose Default Keyboard Shortcut Ctrl + Alt + Shift + B Linearize (Minify text) Ctrl + Alt + Shift + L Validate Against Schema Ctrl + Alt + Shift + V Check XML Syntax Ctrl + Alt + Shift + M Open XPath Evaluation Window Ctrl + Alt + Shift + X Advanced Workflows & Practical Use Cases 1. Fixing Minified API Payloads
The XML Tools plugin is packed with features that make XML editing efficient and error-free. Here's a breakdown of its most important functions.
: This is the most famous feature. It takes "minified" XML—which often appears as one massive, unreadable line—and instantly reformats it into a clean, indented hierarchy. : You can trigger this instantly using Ctrl + Alt + Shift + B Real-Time Validation : It checks your code against XSD (XML Schema)
Download the correct architecture version (32-bit or 64-bit) matching your Notepad++ installation from an official repository like GitHub. Extract the downloaded ZIP archive. Close Notepad++.