WSDL Formatter Online — Format & Beautify WSDL Files

Format SOAP web service contracts. Indent service, binding, portType, message, and types blocks, preserve every xmlns:wsdl/xmlns:soap/xmlns:xsd namespace, and inspect operations — entirely in your browser.

Indent

Input WSDL

Formatted WSDL

What is a WSDL Formatter?

A WSDL formatter takes a one-line, machine-emitted Web Services Description Language document and re-emits it with consistent indentation, line breaks, and namespace preservation. WSDL is the XML contract for SOAP web services — describing operations, message types, port types, bindings, and endpoint addresses — and the contracts produced by Java JAX-WS, .NET WCF, and Apache CXF arrive jammed onto a single line, unreadable without formatting.

The OpenFormatter WSDL formatter parses the document with the browser's native DOMParser, preserves every xmlns:wsdl, xmlns:soap, xmlns:soap12, xmlns:xsd, and xmlns:tns declaration, and re-serialises the tree with your chosen indent width. Because everything runs client-side, internal endpoint URLs, custom SOAP headers, and proprietary message types in the WSDL never leave your device — important when you're dealing with banking, healthcare, or government services that prohibit upload of integration artefacts.

How to format a WSDL — 4 steps

Paste your WSDL. Grab the document from your service's ?wsdl endpoint, repo, or vendor docs. Click Load Sample to try a stock-quote WSDL with types, message, portType, binding, and service blocks.
Pick an indent width. Two spaces matches typical SOAP toolchain output; four spaces matches generic XML style guides.
Click Format. The browser's DOMParser parses the WSDL, the formatter walks the tree, and every block becomes cleanly nested. Errors surface with a parser reason.
Copy the result. Click Copy and drop the formatted WSDL into your repo, code review, ticket, or onboarding doc.

Sample input vs. formatted output

Input (one-line WSDL fragment)

<wsdl:portType name="StockQuotePortType"><wsdl:operation name="GetLastTradePrice"><wsdl:input message="tns:GetLastTradePriceInput"/><wsdl:output message="tns:GetLastTradePriceOutput"/></wsdl:operation></wsdl:portType>

Output (indented, readable)

<wsdl:portType name="StockQuotePortType">
  <wsdl:operation name="GetLastTradePrice">
    <wsdl:input message="tns:GetLastTradePriceInput"/>
    <wsdl:output message="tns:GetLastTradePriceOutput"/>
  </wsdl:operation>
</wsdl:portType>

WSDL-Aware Layout

Service, binding, portType, message, and types blocks each get their own indented hierarchy. Inline xsd:schema definitions inside <wsdl:types> are expanded so every complexType and sequence is discoverable.

Namespace Preservation

Every xmlns:wsdl, xmlns:soap, xmlns:soap12, xmlns:xsd, and xmlns:tns declaration is kept exactly. Output round-trips cleanly through JAX-WS, WCF, Apache CXF, and zeep without prefix loss.

Client-Side Only

Internal endpoint URLs, custom SOAP headers, and proprietary message types stay on your machine. No upload, no rate limit — verify with DevTools Network.

Common use cases

check_circleReading a vendor WSDL during SOAP integration onboarding before generating client stubs
check_circleReviewing auto-generated WSDL from JAX-WS, WCF, or Apache CXF in code review
check_circleDiffing two versions of a WSDL contract to spot operation, message, or binding changes
check_circleIncluding a readable WSDL excerpt in API integration documentation or wiki pages
check_circleInspecting a legacy bank, insurance, or healthcare WSDL during system modernization
check_circleLocating soapAction values, port types, and endpoint addresses for SOAP debugging
check_circlePretty-printing WSDL captured from a SoapUI project before committing to version control
check_circleConfirming xsd:schema imports and inline type definitions before client code generation

WSDL formatter vs. SOAP formatter vs. XML formatter

A generic XML formatter handles arbitrary documents — RSS, sitemap, SVG, config files. The SOAP formatter targets messages exchanged at runtime: envelope, header, body. The WSDL formatter targets contracts — the static service description consumed at design time to generate stubs. All three speak XML, but the WSDL formatter is tuned around namespaces (wsdl:, soap:, xsd:, tns:) and the typical block structure (types, message, portType, binding, service) you'll see in any SOAP integration.

Need more SOAP/XML tooling?

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is WSDL?

WSDL — Web Services Description Language — is the XML contract that describes a SOAP web service. A WSDL document declares the operations the service exposes, the input and output messages each operation accepts, the data types those messages carry, the wire-level binding (typically SOAP-over-HTTP), and the network endpoint clients should call. SOAP toolchains in Java (JAX-WS), .NET (WCF), Python (zeep), and PHP (SoapClient) all consume WSDL to generate client stubs.

Does the formatter preserve namespaces?

Yes. Every namespace declaration — xmlns:wsdl, xmlns:soap, xmlns:soap12, xmlns:xsd, xmlns:tns, xmlns:mime, plus any custom prefixes — is preserved exactly as it appears on the source element. The formatter only adjusts whitespace; it never rewrites prefix-to-URI mappings or changes a qualified name. The DOMParser used internally is namespace-aware, so output round-trips cleanly through SOAP toolchains.

Can it format both WSDL 1.1 and 2.0?

Yes. WSDL 1.1 (the dominant version, with portType, binding, and service) and WSDL 2.0 (which renames portType to interface and adds a few simplifications) are both XML documents and both format cleanly. The tool does not validate against either WSDL XSD — it ensures XML well-formedness, indents the structure, and preserves namespaces. For schema-aware validation use Apache CXF wsdlvalidator or your toolchain's built-in check.

Will it inspect operation signatures?

Indirectly — once formatted, the operation list becomes obvious to a human reader. Each <wsdl:operation> sits inside its <wsdl:portType> with input and output messages clearly nested, and each <wsdl:message> declares its parts. For machine-readable extraction, plug the formatted output into a WSDL parser (zeep, wsdl2java, svcutil); the formatter's job is to make the document readable, not to generate stubs.

Is WSDL still in use?

Yes — heavily, in regulated and enterprise contexts. Banking, insurance, healthcare (HL7 over SOAP), telecom OSS/BSS, government tax filing systems, and large ERP integrations (SAP, Oracle EBS) still expose WSDL-described SOAP services. New greenfield APIs almost always pick REST or gRPC, but WSDL contracts written 10–15 years ago remain in production and require formatting and inspection during integration and modernization work.

Is my WSDL uploaded anywhere?

No. The formatter runs entirely as JavaScript in your browser using the native DOMParser. WSDLs often expose internal endpoint URLs, authentication scheme details, and proprietary message types that security policy forbids from leaving the device — so client-side processing matters. Open DevTools → Network and verify zero requests fire when you click Format.

Why is auto-generated WSDL so hard to read?

Frameworks like Apache Axis, JAX-WS, and WCF emit WSDL on a single line for compactness — saves bytes on the wire and irritates humans. Inline schemas under <wsdl:types> compound the unreadability because every <xsd:element>, <xsd:complexType>, and <xsd:sequence> sits jammed against the previous one. Formatting expands the structure into discoverable hierarchy.

Does formatting change the WSDL's meaning?

No. SOAP toolchains parse the XML structure, not whitespace. Indented and one-line versions of the same WSDL produce identical client stubs. The formatter is purely a readability transform — useful for code review, documentation, and onboarding, but not required for the service to work.