---
id: xmltodict
version: "1.0.4"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# xmltodict — Makes working with XML feel like you are working with JSON

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Popularity: top 1,000 on PyPI

## Install

pip install xmltodict
uv add xmltodict
poetry add xmltodict

## Description

# xmltodict

`xmltodict` is a Python module that makes working with XML feel like you are working with [JSON](http://docs.python.org/library/json.html), as in this ["spec"](http://www.xml.com/pub/a/2006/05/31/converting-between-xml-and-json.html):

[![Tests](https://github.com/martinblech/xmltodict/actions/workflows/test.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/martinblech/xmltodict/actions/workflows/test.yml)

```python
>>> print(json.dumps(xmltodict.parse("""
...  <mydocument has="an attribute">
...    <and>
...      <many>elements</many>
...      <many>more elements</many>
...    </and>
...    <plus a="complex">
...      element as well
...    </plus>
...  </mydocument>
...  """), indent=4))
{
    "mydocument": {
        "@has": "an attribute",
        "and": {
            "many": [
                "elements",
                "more elements"
            ]
        },
        "plus": {
            "@a": "complex",
            "#text": "element as well"
        }
    }
}
```

## Namespace support

By default, `xmltodict` does no XML namespace processing (it just treats namespace declarations as regular node attributes), but passing `process_namespaces=True` will make it expand...

## AI interpretation — verify before relying

xmltodict parses XML documents into Python dictionaries and converts them back to XML, treating XML structure like JSON for intuitive programmatic access.

Verdict: A lightweight, well-maintained XML-to-dict bridge with no dependencies, strong community adoption, and zero known vulnerabilities. Suitable for any Python 3.9+ project needing intuitive XML handling. MIT licensing poses no compliance burden.

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/xmltodict) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/xmltodict/)