What INI syntax is supported?

[section] headers, key=value or key = value lines, and ; or # comment lines, the common subset shared by most INI dialects.

How do sections map to XML?

Each [section] becomes a child element of the document root, with its keys as further nested elements; global (pre-section) keys become direct children of the root.

What if a line isn't a valid key=value pair, section header, or comment?

Parsing stops and reports the exact line number so you can fix it.

INI to XML Converter - Convert Online

Overview

Introduction

Migrating a simple app config from INI into an XML-based system means turning flat sections into proper nesting.

This tool does that conversion directly.

What Is INI to XML Converter?

A converter that parses INI text into a plain object.

It then converts that object into XML with a synthetic root wrapping the result.

How INI to XML Converter Works

INI lines are parsed into global keys and named sections, producing a plain object.

That object is then converted to XML the same way the JSON to XML Converter does it.

When To Use INI to XML Converter

Use it when migrating a simple INI config into a system that expects XML.

It's also useful for bringing a Windows-style .ini file into an XML-based configuration pipeline.

Often used alongside XML to INI Converter, TOML to XML Converter and Properties to XML Converter.

Features

Advantages

Runs entirely client-side.
Reports the exact line of a malformed entry.
Produces a well-formed document even from a very small INI file, with no special-casing needed.

Limitations

Only one level of section nesting is parsed, matching real INI; there's no support for INI dialects with nested sub-sections.
Every value becomes an XML text node; there's no type inference, numbers and booleans stay as plain text content.

Examples

Converting a simple INI file

Input

debug = true

[server]
host = localhost
port = 8080

Output

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<root>
  <debug>true</debug>
  <server>
    <host>localhost</host>
    <port>8080</port>
  </server>
</root>

The global key becomes a direct child of the root, and the [server] section becomes a nested element.

Best Practices & Notes

Best Practices

Keep comments on their own lines (starting with ; or #), inline trailing comments after a value aren't stripped.
Use XML to INI Converter afterward to confirm a round trip reproduces your original file.
Check the exact line number in any parse error, it points straight at the malformed entry.

Developer Notes

This composes the existing `decodeIni` parser with `jsonToXml`, no XML-serialization logic is duplicated here.

INI to XML Converter Use Cases

Migrating a simple INI config into an XML-based system
Converting a legacy OS-level or app config file into XML for a modern toolchain
Bringing a Windows-style .ini file into an XML-based configuration pipeline

Common Mistakes

Assuming multi-level INI dialects (some tools support dotted section names) are supported, only one flat level is parsed.
Leaving a stray line that isn't a key=value pair, section header, or comment, which stops parsing entirely.

Tips

Use XML to INI Converter afterward to confirm a round trip reproduces your original file.
Check the FAQ above if the output doesn't look like what you expected.

INI to XML Converter