How to pretty print XML from the command line?

How to Pretty Print XML from the Command Line? 🖥️👨‍💻

Have you ever struggled with ugly, unreadable XML output on the command line? 🤔 Want to transform it into a beautiful, human-readable format? Look no further! In this guide, we'll show you some easy solutions to pretty print XML from the command line. 😄

The Problem 🚫🗒️

Let's say you have an XML file like this:

<root>
    <foo a="b">lorem</foo>
    <bar value="ipsum" />
</root>

But when you view it in the command line, it looks like a jumbled mess. 😫 You want it to appear neatly formatted, like this:

<root>
    <foo a="b">lorem</foo>
    <bar value="ipsum" />
</root>

Solution 1: XMLStarlet 🌟

One of the easiest ways to pretty print XML from the command line is by using XMLStarlet, a command-line XML toolkit. 🌟 XMLStarlet is a powerful tool that allows you to manipulate XML files, including formatting them nicely.

Here's how you can use XMLStarlet to pretty print your XML:

1. Install XMLStarlet by running the following command:

sudo apt-get install xmlstarlet

1. Save your XML content in a file, for example, input.xml.

2. Run the following command to pretty print the XML file using XMLStarlet:

xmlstarlet fo input.xml

That's it! XMLStarlet will format the XML file, making it much easier to read on the command line. 😍

Solution 2: XSL Transformations 🎯

Another way to pretty print XML from the command line is by using XSL Transformations. XSLT is a language used to transform XML documents into different structures or formats. 📝

1. Save the following XSLT template in a file, for example, pretty-print.xsl:

<xsl:stylesheet version="1.0" xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform">
  <xsl:output method="xml" indent="yes" />
  <xsl:template match="/">
    <xsl:copy-of select="."/>
  </xsl:template>
</xsl:stylesheet>

1. Save your XML content in a file, for example, input.xml.

2. Run the following command to pretty print the XML file using XSL Transformations:

xsltproc pretty-print.xsl input.xml

Just like that, your XML will be transformed into a beautifully formatted version. 👌

Call-to-Action: Share Your Experiences! 📢🔄

We hope these solutions helped you in pretty printing XML from the command line. Now, it's your turn! Share your experiences:

• Have you encountered any other methods to achieve pretty printing?

• Do you prefer using XMLStarlet or XSL Transformations?

• What other command-line tricks do you want to learn about?

Leave a comment below and let's have a discussion! 🎉 Engage with our tech community and help each other out. Together, we can make the command line a more beautiful and accessible place. 🌈💻

Remember, sharing is caring! If you found this guide helpful, don't forget to share it with your friends and colleagues. Happy pretty printing! 🎇🌟

Related: How can I pretty-print JSON in (Unix) shell script?