Convert SOAP and REST API XML Responses to JSON

Why XML API Responses Are Tricky

XML from real APIs has features that simple converters can't handle:

• XML namespaces — soap:Envelope, ns1:GetUserResponse — prefix clutter that needs stripping.
• SOAP envelope structure — an outer envelope, header, and body wrapping the actual payload.
• CDATA sections — embedded content wrapped in <![CDATA[...]]> that hides HTML, JSON, or XML inside.
• Repeating elements — multiple <item> tags that should become a JSON array, not overwrite each other.
• Mixed content — elements with both text and child elements.

The converter handles all these patterns automatically, with zero configuration needed for common use cases.

1. Converting a SOAP Response

SOAP envelopes wrap the actual data inside a Body element. Consider this response:

<soap:Envelope xmlns:soap="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/">
  <soap:Body>
    <GetUserResponse xmlns="http://api.example.com/users">
      <User>
        <ID>1001</ID>
        <Name>Alice Johnson</Name>
        <Email>alice@example.com</Email>
        <Role>admin</Role>
      </User>
    </GetUserResponse>
  </soap:Body>
</soap:Envelope>

After conversion, the output strips namespaces and unwraps the envelope:

{
  "GetUserResponse": {
    "User": {
      "ID": "1001",
      "Name": "Alice Johnson",
      "Email": "alice@example.com",
      "Role": "admin"
    }
  }
}

Clean, readable JSON — no SOAP envelope clutter.

2. CDATA and Namespace Handling

Some APIs embed HTML or JSON content inside CDATA sections. The converter extracts the raw text:

<response>
  <status>success</status>
  <content><![CDATA[{"internal": "json embedded here"}]]></content>
</response>

The content field becomes a plain string containing the embedded JSON. You can then parse it further using the JSON Editor.

XML namespace prefixes are stripped by default. For example, soap:Body becomes Body in the JSON output. If you need to preserve namespace information, configure the attribute prefix setting (default @) to keep namespace declarations as metadata.

3. Automatic Array Detection

When XML has multiple sibling elements with the same tag name, the converter automatically creates a JSON array:

<invoices>
  <invoice><id>INV-001</id><total>150.00</total></invoice>
  <invoice><id>INV-002</id><total>275.50</total></invoice>
  <invoice><id>INV-003</id><total>89.99</total></invoice>
</invoices>

Becomes a JSON array of invoice objects, preserving all data without loss.

Best Practices for XML API to JSON Conversion

• Verify namespace handling. Check that namespace prefixes are stripped as expected. If a key contains a colon, adjust the attribute prefix setting to strip or preserve it.
• Check CDATA content. CDATA often contains embedded structures. After conversion, inspect the string values that came from CDATA — they may need additional parsing.
• Validate array detection. Ensure single-item elements are treated consistently. The default "Detect Arrays" mode correctly handles both single and repeated elements.
• Use with the JSON Editor. After converting, use the JSON Editor to format and validate the output before using it in your application.
• Compare before and after. Use JSON Diff to compare the converted JSON against expected output to catch any conversion issues.

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Frequently Asked Questions