xml-json-normalize

🚀 A CLI tool that converts XML to sorted JSON and allows comparing two XML files.

Features

✅ Convert XML to JSON
✅ Sorts object keys alphabetically for deterministic comparison
✅ Compare two XML files and show differences
✅ Compact one-line diff output (default)
✅ Detailed JSON diff output with --detailed flag
✅ Automatically names the output file if none is provided
✅ Prevents overwriting input files
✅ Works with nested objects

📥 Installation

Global Install (Recommended)

npm install -g xml-json-normalize

Local Install (For Project Usage)

npm install --save-dev xml-json-normalize

🚀 Usage

1️⃣ Convert XML to JSON

xml-json-normalize convert <input.xml> [output.json]

• If no output file is provided, it automatically saves as input.json in the same directory.

Example

Input (input.xml)

<root>
    <b>2</b>
    <a>
        <z>9</z>
        <y>8</y>
    </a>
    <c>
        <d>4</d>
        <a>1</a>
    </c>
</root>

Command

xml-json-normalize convert input.xml

Output (input.json)

{
  "root": {
    "a": {
      "y": 8,
      "z": 9
    },
    "b": 2,
    "c": {
      "a": 1,
      "d": 4
    }
  }
}

2️⃣ Compare Two XML Files

xml-json-normalize diff <file1.xml> <file2.xml>

• This compares two XML files after converting them to sorted JSON and prints the differences.

Example

File 1 (file1.xml)

<root>
    <a>1</a>
    <b>2</b>
</root>

File 2 (file2.xml)

<root>
    <a>1</a>
    <b>3</b>
    <x>New Value</x>
</root>

Command

xml-json-normalize diff file1.xml file2.xml

Output (Compact Default)

🔍 Compact Differences:
E | Edited: root.b | Old: 2 → New: 3
N | Added: root.x | Value: "New Value"

• E = Edited
• D = Deleted
• N = Added
• A = Array Change

3️⃣ Compare Two XML Files (Detailed JSON Output)

xml-json-normalize diff file1.xml file2.xml --detailed

This prints the full structured JSON diff.

Example Output

[
  {
    "kind": "E",
    "path": ["root", "b"],
    "lhs": 2,
    "rhs": 3
  },
  {
    "kind": "N",
    "path": ["root", "x"],
    "rhs": "New Value"
  }
]

4️⃣ Prevents Overwriting Input Files

xml-json-normalize convert myfile.xml myfile.xml

❌ Error: Prevents overwriting myfile.xml with JSON.

🛠 Development

Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/xml-json-normalize.git
cd xml-json-normalize

Install Dependencies

npm install

Build the Project

npm run build

Run Locally

node dist/index.js convert input.xml
node dist/index.js diff file1.xml file2.xml

🏗 Contributing

1. Fork the repo
2. Create a new branch (feature/your-feature)
3. Commit your changes
4. Push to your fork
5. Create a Pull Request

📜 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.

🌟 Like this project? Give it a star! ⭐