# XML parser
Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a text-based open standard designed for both human-readable and machine-readable data interchange. Like JSON, it is used primarily to transmit data between a server and web application. It is described in [W3C Recommendation: Extensible Markup Language (XML)]().
The XML parser processes input in XML format, and adds the parsed data to the message object.
To create an XML parser, define an `xml_parser` that has the `xml()` option. By default, the parser will process the `${MESSAGE}` part of the log message. To process other parts of a log message using the XML parser, use the `template()` option. You can also define the parser inline in the log path.
See also the related FilterX function [`parse_xml()`](../../docs/axosyslog-core/4.26/filterx/function-reference/index.md#parse-xml). It is a separate implementation that parses XML into a dict, so the options and limitations of this parser do not apply to it.
## Declaration:
Terminal window
```
parser xml_name {
xml(
template()
prefix()
drop-invalid()
exclude-tags()
strip-whitespaces()
);
};
```
## Example: Using an XML parser
In the following example, the source is an XML-encoded log message. The destination is a file that uses the `format-json` template. The log line connects the source, the destination and the parser.
Terminal window
```
source s_local {
file("/tmp/aaa");
};
destination d_local {
file(
"/tmp/bbb"
template("$(format-json .xml.*)\n")
);
};
parser xml_parser {
xml();
};
log {
source(s_local);
parser(xml_parser);
destination(d_local);
};
```
You can also define the parser inline in the log path.
Terminal window
```
log {
source(s_file);
parser { xml(prefix(".SDATA")); };
destination(d_file);
};
```
The XML parser inserts an “`.xml`” prefix by default before the extracted name-value pairs. Since `format-json` replaces a dot with an underscore at the beginning of keys, the “`.xml`” prefix becomes “`_xml`”. Attributes get an `_` prefix. For example, from the XML input:
Terminal window
```
part1Tag1 Leafpart2Tag2 Leafpart3
```
The following output is generated:
Terminal window
```
{"_xml":{"tags":{"tag2":"Tag2 Leaf","tag1":"Tag1 Leaf","_attr":"attrval","tags":"part1part2part3"}}}
```
When the text is separated by tags on different levels or tags on the same level, the parser simply concatenates the different parts of text. For example, from this input XML:
Terminal window
```
text1
text2
```
The following output is generated:
Terminal window
```
.xml.tag.tag1 = text1text2
```
Whitespaces are kept as they are in the XML input. No collapsing happens on significant whitespaces. For example, from this input XML:
Terminal window
```
<133>Feb 25 14:09:07 webserver syslogd: |Test\n\n Test2|\n
```
The following output is generated:
Terminal window
```
[2017-09-04T13:20:27.417266] Setting value; msg='0x7f2fd8002df0', name='.xml.b', value='|Test\x0a\x0a Test2|'
```
However, note that users can choose to strip whitespaces using the [`strip-whitespaces()`](../../docs/axosyslog-core/4.26/chapter-parsers/xml-parser/xml-parser-options/index.md) option.
## Configuration hints
Define a source that correctly detects the end of the message, otherwise the XML parser will consider the input invalid, resulting in a parser error.
To ensure that the end of the XML document is accurately detected, use any of the following options:
* Ensure that the XML is a single-line message.
* In the case of multiline XML documents:
* If the opening and closing tags are fixed and known, you can use `multi-line-mode(prefix-suffix)`. Using regular expressions, specify a prefix and suffix matching the opening and closing tags. For details on using `multi-line-mode(prefix-suffix)`, see the `multi-line-prefix()` and `multi-line-suffix()` options.
* In the case of TCP, you can encapsulate and send the document in syslog-protocol format, and use a `syslog()` source. Make sure that the message conforms to [the octet counting method described in RFC6587]().
For example:
Terminal window
```
59 <133>Feb 25 14:09:07 webserver syslogd: \nText\n
```
Considering the new lines as one character, `59` is appended to the original message.
* You can use a datagram-based source. In the case of datagram-based sources, the protocol signals the end of the message automatically. Ensure that the complete XML document is written in one message.
* Unless the opening and closing tags are fixed and known, stream-based sources are currently not supported.
In case you experience issues, start `syslog-ng` with debug logs enabled. There will be a debug log about the incoming log entry, which shows the complete message to be parsed. The entry should contain the entire XML document.
Note If your log messages are entirely in .xml format, make sure to disable any message parsing on the source side by including the `flags("no-parse")` option in your source statement. This will put the entire log message in the `$MESSAGE` macro, which is the field that the XML parser parses by default.
* * *
[Limitations of the XML parsers](../../docs/axosyslog-core/4.26/chapter-parsers/xml-parser/xml-parser-limitations/index.md)
[Options of the XML parsers](../../docs/axosyslog-core/4.26/chapter-parsers/xml-parser/xml-parser-options/index.md)
Last modified July 29, 2026: [Link classic rewrite rules and parsers to their FilterX counterparts (e9be5c49)]()