xmltodict
Makes working with XML feel like you are working with JSON
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. Zero dependencies, permissive MIT license, actively maintained, and ranked in the top 1000 PyPI packages by downloads. Install if you need straightforward XML↔dict conversion without schema validation overhead. No security vulnerabilities reported.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Low friction: pure Python wheel with no runtime dependencies.
- Actively maintained—last commit 2026-06-15, 5751 stars, 173 days since latest release.
License · maintenance · safety
MIT (permissive) — MIT license permits commercial and private use with minimal restrictions; suitable for most projects.
last release 2026-02-22 (173 days) · last repo commit 2026-06-15 · 5,751 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 127,115,154 downloads/mo, #295 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
import xmltodict
xml_string = '<root><item>value</item></root>'
result = xmltodict.parse(xml_string)
print(result) # {'root': {'item': 'value'}}
# Roundtrip back to XML
xml_output = xmltodict.unparse(result, pretty=True)
print(xml_output)- Performance characteristics compared to other XML libraries for large documents
- Exact memory footprint in streaming mode with very large XML files
What it is and what it does
xmltodict is a lightweight Python library that parses XML into dictionaries and serializes dictionaries back to XML, designed to make XML feel like JSON. It wraps Python's built-in Expat parser and provides a simple API for bidirectional conversion. Attributes become prefixed keys (default `@`), text content uses a designated key (default `#text`), and nested elements map naturally to nested dicts.
The library supports namespace processing, streaming mode for large files with callbacks, and roundtripping—converting dict → XML → dict while preserving structure. It's fast, has no external dependencies, and works across Python 3.9 through 3.14 and PyPy. Common use cases include parsing configuration files, API responses, or large data dumps without the overhead of full XML schema validation.
Use it for
- Parse XML configuration files or REST API responses into dicts for easier manipulation
- Stream large XML dumps (Wikipedia, Discogs) with item callbacks to avoid loading entire file into memory
- Convert Python dictionaries to XML for serialization or API requests
- Migrate XML-based workflows to JSON-like dict handling without rewriting parsing logic
- Command-line XML processing: pipe compressed XML through xmltodict.py to marshal objects for downstream scripts
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
Zero dependencies, permissive MIT license, actively maintained, and ranked in the top 1000 PyPI packages by downloads. Install if you need straightforward XML↔dict conversion without schema validation overhead. No security vulnerabilities reported.
Install
xmltodict on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction: pure Python wheel with no runtime dependencies. Actively maintained—last commit 2026-06-15, 5751 stars, 173 days since latest release.
License in practice
MIT license permits commercial and private use with minimal restrictions; suitable for most projects.
Quickstart
import xmltodict
xml_string = '<root><item>value</item></root>'
result = xmltodict.parse(xml_string)
print(result) # {'root': {'item': 'value'}}
# Roundtrip back to XML
xml_output = xmltodict.unparse(result, pretty=True)
print(xml_output)Verify before relying
- Performance characteristics compared to other XML libraries for large documents
- Exact memory footprint in streaming mode with very large XML files
Package facts
| License | MIT permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.9 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | None |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 173 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 127,115,154 / month, #295 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Intended Audience :: DevelopersOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9Programming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: PyPyTopic :: Text Processing :: Markup :: XML |
Evidence: xmltodict-1.0.4-py3-none-any.whl
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See also dicttoxml · xmljson · xmltojson · xmlformatter · types-xmltodict · dict2xml · gpxpy · jxmlease · PyXB-X · xml-python