XML Escape

Escape or unescape XML special characters. Converts &, <, >, ", and ' to their XML entity equivalents and back.

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How to Use This Tool

Paste your string into the input, select Escape or Unescape, then click the button. Escape converts &, <, >, " and ' to XML entity references. Unescape converts entity references back to raw characters.

Common Use Cases

  • Safely embed user text inside XML element content or attributes
  • Decode XML entity references back to plain text
  • Prevent XML injection when building XML documents programmatically

Frequently Asked Questions

Which characters are escaped?

The five XML predefined entities: & → &amp;, < → &lt;, > → &gt;, " → &quot;, and ' → &apos;. The ampersand must be escaped first to avoid double-escaping.

Why do I need to escape XML?

XML parsers interpret &, <, and > as markup. If your data contains these characters, you must escape them so they are treated as literal text rather than XML syntax.

Is my data sent to a server?

No. All processing happens in your browser. Your data never leaves your machine.