Is "BXML" a standard format?

No single standard by that name exists, several unrelated binary XML formats share the name over the years. This tool implements its own self-contained, documented binary encoding of the exact tree this site's XML parser produces, not an attempt to match any external BXML spec.

Why would this be useful if it's not a standard format?

It's a lossless, more compact binary representation of an XML document that round-trips perfectly through this site's own BXML to XML Converter, useful for understanding binary tree encoding concepts or as a compact intermediate format within this tool suite.

How is this different from the XML to Base64 or Data URI converters?

Those wrap the original XML text as-is. BXML re-encodes the document's structure into a different binary tree format entirely (tag names, attributes, and content each get their own typed, length-prefixed encoding), it's a real re-encoding, not just a text-to-bytes wrapper.

Does BXML preserve everything text XML has?

Yes, unlike the JSON-intermediate converters in this category (which normalize attributes vs. elements into one convention), BXML encodes the exact same node tree the XML parser produces, so it round-trips losslessly, including comments, CDATA, and processing instructions.

XML to BXML Converter - Binary XML Encoder Online

Overview

Introduction

Text XML carries a lot of redundant syntax, repeated angle brackets, closing tags, quote characters.

This tool re-encodes the same document as a compact binary tree instead.

What Is XML to BXML Converter?

A binary encoder for this site's own BXML format: every node, element, text, comment, CDATA, processing instruction, gets a one-byte type tag.

Element nodes additionally store their tag name, self-closing flag, attributes, and children with explicit length prefixes.

How XML to BXML Converter Works

The XML is parsed into this category's standard node tree, then walked and serialized: each node writes a type byte followed by length-prefixed strings for its content, with elements additionally writing their attribute count/pairs and child count before recursing into children.

The resulting bytes are shown as hex.

When To Use XML to BXML Converter

Use it to explore binary tree encoding concepts.

It also works as a compact, losslessly round-trippable intermediate format within this tool suite.

Often used alongside BXML to XML Converter, XML to BSON Converter and XML to Base64 Converter.

Features

Advantages

Losslessly preserves the exact node tree, including comments, CDATA, and processing instructions, unlike the JSON-intermediate converters.
Runs entirely client-side.
Typically produces a more compact byte count than the equivalent text XML.

Limitations

Not an interoperable standard, other tools won't recognize this encoding; it only round-trips with this site's own BXML to XML Converter.
Output is shown as hex text for readability and copying, not raw binary bytes.

Examples

Encoding a small element

Input

<a/>

Output

00 01 01 00 01 61 01 00 00 00 00

A node count of 1, then the element's type byte, its tag name's length-prefixed bytes, a self-closing flag, and zero attributes/children.

Best Practices & Notes

Best Practices

Use this alongside BXML to XML Converter to see the format round-trip, rather than expecting other tools to read the hex output.
Keep the full hex string intact, including consistent spacing, when copying it elsewhere for decoding later.
Reach for XML to BSON or XML to Bencode Converter instead if you specifically need a real, external binary format.

Developer Notes

Encoding/decoding both live in `bxml-core.ts`; the format is a straightforward TLV (type-length-value) scheme over `XmlNode`, with `Uint16` length prefixes for strings, attribute counts, and child counts.

XML to BXML Converter Use Cases

Exploring how a binary tree encoding of XML might look
Producing a compact, losslessly round-trippable intermediate representation within this tool suite
Teaching or demonstrating TLV (type-length-value) binary encoding concepts using a familiar XML document

Common Mistakes

Expecting the hex output to be interoperable with any external "BXML" tool or library, none is standardized.
Editing the hex by hand, a single wrong byte anywhere shifts every length-prefixed field after it.

Tips

Use BXML to XML Converter to decode the hex back into readable XML.
Check the FAQ above if the output doesn't look like what you expected.

XML to BXML Converter