PowerShell ConvertTo-Xml

last modified February 15, 2025

This article covers the ConvertTo-Xml cmdlet in PowerShell. It converts .NET objects into XML representations. The cmdlet is useful for data serialization and configuration management.

XML basics

XML (eXtensible Markup Language) is a structured data format. It uses tags to define elements and attributes. PowerShell can work with XML through various cmdlets. ConvertTo-Xml serializes objects to XML format.

Basic ConvertTo-Xml usage

The simplest way to use ConvertTo-Xml is with a single object. The cmdlet returns an XML document object. By default, it includes type information in the output. The XML can be further processed or saved to a file.

xml1.ps1

$date = Get-Date
$date | ConvertTo-Xml

This converts a DateTime object to XML. The output shows the object's properties as XML elements. Type information is included by default.

Convert process information to XML

You can convert process objects to XML for analysis or storage. This example gets Notepad processes and converts them. The XML structure preserves the object hierarchy. This is useful for logging or configuration management.

xml2.ps1

Get-Process -Name "notepad" | ConvertTo-Xml

This command retrieves Notepad processes and converts them to XML. Each process property becomes an XML element. The output can be piped to other cmdlets.

PS C:\> .\xml2.ps1

Objects

Object
-------
<Objs Version="1.1.0.1" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/powershell/2004/04">
  <Obj RefId="0">
    <TN RefId="0">
      <T>System.Diagnostics.Process</T>
      <T>System.ComponentModel.Component</T>
      <T>System.MarshalByRefObject</T>
      <T>System.Object</T>
    </TN>
    <ToString>System.Diagnostics.Process (notepad)</ToString>
    <Props>
      <I32 N="Id">1234</I32>
      <S N="Name">notepad</S>
      ...
    </Props>
  </Obj>
</Objs>

Save XML to file

The XML output can be saved directly to a file. Use redirection or Out-File for this purpose. This creates persistent XML representations of objects. The files can be loaded later with Import-Clixml.

xml3.ps1

Get-Service | ConvertTo-Xml | Out-File "services.xml"

This command saves all service information to an XML file. The file can be shared or archived. The XML format preserves the object structure.

Convert custom objects to XML

Custom objects created with New-Object or PSCustomObject can be converted. This is useful for creating configuration files. The XML structure will reflect the object's properties. You can control the depth of conversion.

xml4.ps1

$user = [PSCustomObject]@{
    Name = "John Doe"
    Age = 42
    Active = $true
}
$user | ConvertTo-Xml

This creates a custom user object and converts it to XML. Each property becomes an XML element. The output includes the object's type information.

Exclude type information

Type information can be excluded using the -NoTypeInformation parameter. This creates cleaner XML output. The resulting XML is more compact. It's useful when type details aren't needed.

xml5.ps1

Get-Process -Name "powershell" | 
    ConvertTo-Xml -NoTypeInformation

This converts PowerShell processes to XML without type information. The output is simpler and more focused on data. It's better for interoperability.

Control XML depth

The -Depth parameter controls how many levels of nested objects are converted. The default is 2. Increase this for complex objects. Be careful with very deep structures to avoid performance issues.

xml6.ps1

$complexObject = @{
    Level1 = @{
        Level2 = @{
            Level3 = "Value"
        }
    }
}
$complexObject | ConvertTo-Xml -Depth 5

This converts a deeply nested hashtable to XML. The -Depth parameter ensures all levels are included. Without it, some nested data might be truncated.

Convert to XML string

To get the XML as a string instead of an XML document object, use the -As String parameter. This is useful when you need the raw XML text. The string can be manipulated or sent to web services.

xml7.ps1

$services = Get-Service | Select-Object -First 3
$services | ConvertTo-Xml -As String

This converts the first three services to an XML string. The output is raw XML text rather than an object. This format is better for some APIs.

Source

PowerShell documentation

In this article, we have covered the ConvertTo-Xml cmdlet in PowerShell.

Author

My name is Jan Bodnar, and I am a passionate programmer with extensive programming experience. I have been writing programming articles since 2007. To date, I have authored over 1,400 articles and 8 e-books. I possess more than ten years of experience in teaching programming.

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