XSD Cheatsheet

Complete quick reference for XML Schema (XSD) with copy-paste examples. Bookmark this page for easy access.

Basic XSD Structure

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<xs:schema xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
           targetNamespace="http://www.example.com"
           xmlns="http://www.example.com"
           elementFormDefault="qualified">

  <!-- Element declarations -->
  <xs:element name="root" type="RootType"/>

  <!-- Type definitions -->
  <xs:complexType name="RootType">
    <xs:sequence>
      <xs:element name="child" type="xs:string"/>
    </xs:sequence>
  </xs:complexType>

</xs:schema>

The root element xs:schema contains all declarations. Use targetNamespace to define the namespace for your schema.

Simple Type Elements

Element with Built-in Type

<xs:element name="name" type="xs:string"/>
<xs:element name="age" type="xs:integer"/>
<xs:element name="price" type="xs:decimal"/>
<xs:element name="active" type="xs:boolean"/>
<xs:element name="date" type="xs:date"/>

Element with Default/Fixed Value

<!-- Default value (can be overridden) -->
<xs:element name="country" type="xs:string" 
            default="USA"/>

<!-- Fixed value (cannot be changed) -->
<xs:element name="version" type="xs:string" 
            fixed="1.0"/>

Complex Types

Sequence (ordered elements)

<xs:complexType name="PersonType">
  <xs:sequence>
    <xs:element name="firstName" type="xs:string"/>
    <xs:element name="lastName" type="xs:string"/>
    <xs:element name="email" type="xs:string" minOccurs="0"/>
  </xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>

Elements must appear in the specified order. Use minOccurs="0" for optional elements.

Choice (one of many)

<xs:complexType name="ContactType">
  <xs:choice>
    <xs:element name="email" type="xs:string"/>
    <xs:element name="phone" type="xs:string"/>
    <xs:element name="fax" type="xs:string"/>
  </xs:choice>
</xs:complexType>

Only one of the elements can appear. Use for mutually exclusive options.

All (unordered elements)

<xs:complexType name="AddressType">
  <xs:all>
    <xs:element name="street" type="xs:string"/>
    <xs:element name="city" type="xs:string"/>
    <xs:element name="zip" type="xs:string"/>
  </xs:all>
</xs:complexType>

Elements can appear in any order. Each element can appear at most once.

Mixed Content (text + elements)

<xs:complexType name="ParagraphType" mixed="true">
  <xs:sequence>
    <xs:element name="bold" type="xs:string" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="unbounded"/>
    <xs:element name="italic" type="xs:string" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="unbounded"/>
  </xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>

Allows text content mixed with child elements, like HTML paragraphs.

Simple Content with Attributes

<xs:complexType name="PriceType">
  <xs:simpleContent>
    <xs:extension base="xs:decimal">
      <xs:attribute name="currency" type="xs:string" use="required"/>
    </xs:extension>
  </xs:simpleContent>
</xs:complexType>

<!-- Allows: <price currency="USD">19.99</price> -->

Type Restrictions (Facets)

String Length

<xs:simpleType name="UsernameType">
  <xs:restriction base="xs:string">
    <xs:minLength value="3"/>
    <xs:maxLength value="20"/>
  </xs:restriction>
</xs:simpleType>

Numeric Range

<xs:simpleType name="AgeType">
  <xs:restriction base="xs:integer">
    <xs:minInclusive value="0"/>
    <xs:maxInclusive value="150"/>
  </xs:restriction>
</xs:simpleType>

Pattern (Regex)

<xs:simpleType name="EmailType">
  <xs:restriction base="xs:string">
    <xs:pattern value="[^@]+@[^@]+\.[^@]+"/>
  </xs:restriction>
</xs:simpleType>

<xs:simpleType name="PhoneType">
  <xs:restriction base="xs:string">
    <xs:pattern value="\d{3}-\d{3}-\d{4}"/>
  </xs:restriction>
</xs:simpleType>

Enumeration

<xs:simpleType name="StatusType">
  <xs:restriction base="xs:string">
    <xs:enumeration value="pending"/>
    <xs:enumeration value="approved"/>
    <xs:enumeration value="rejected"/>
  </xs:restriction>
</xs:simpleType>

Whitespace Handling

<xs:simpleType name="NormalizedString">
  <xs:restriction base="xs:string">
    <!-- preserve, replace, or collapse -->
    <xs:whiteSpace value="collapse"/>
  </xs:restriction>
</xs:simpleType>

Decimal Precision

<xs:simpleType name="CurrencyType">
  <xs:restriction base="xs:decimal">
    <xs:totalDigits value="10"/>
    <xs:fractionDigits value="2"/>
  </xs:restriction>
</xs:simpleType>

All Restriction Facets

Facet	Applies To	Description
length	string, binary	Exact length required
minLength	string, binary	Minimum length
maxLength	string, binary	Maximum length
pattern	string	Regex pattern to match
enumeration	all	List of allowed values
whiteSpace	string	preserve, replace, collapse
minInclusive	numeric, date	Minimum value (inclusive)
maxInclusive	numeric, date	Maximum value (inclusive)
minExclusive	numeric, date	Minimum value (exclusive)
maxExclusive	numeric, date	Maximum value (exclusive)
totalDigits	decimal	Total number of digits
fractionDigits	decimal	Digits after decimal point

Occurrence Indicators

minOccurs / maxOccurs

<!-- Required (default) -->
<xs:element name="id" type="xs:string"/>

<!-- Optional (0 or 1) -->
<xs:element name="nickname" type="xs:string" 
            minOccurs="0"/>

<!-- Required, multiple (1 to unlimited) -->
<xs:element name="item" type="ItemType" 
            maxOccurs="unbounded"/>

<!-- Optional, multiple (0 to unlimited) -->
<xs:element name="tag" type="xs:string" 
            minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="unbounded"/>

<!-- Exactly 3 -->
<xs:element name="coordinate" type="xs:decimal" 
            minOccurs="3" maxOccurs="3"/>

<!-- Between 1 and 5 -->
<xs:element name="option" type="xs:string" 
            minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="5"/>

Common Patterns

Pattern	minOccurs	maxOccurs
Required (1)	1 (default)	1 (default)
Optional (0-1)	0	1
One or more (1+)	1	unbounded
Zero or more (0+)	0	unbounded

Attributes

Basic Attributes

<xs:complexType name="BookType">
  <xs:sequence>
    <xs:element name="title" type="xs:string"/>
  </xs:sequence>
  
  <!-- Required attribute -->
  <xs:attribute name="isbn" type="xs:string" 
                use="required"/>
  
  <!-- Optional attribute (default) -->
  <xs:attribute name="edition" type="xs:integer"/>
  
  <!-- Attribute with default value -->
  <xs:attribute name="language" type="xs:string" 
                default="en"/>
  
  <!-- Attribute with fixed value -->
  <xs:attribute name="format" type="xs:string" 
                fixed="hardcover"/>
</xs:complexType>

Attribute Groups

<!-- Define reusable attribute group -->
<xs:attributeGroup name="CommonAttrs">
  <xs:attribute name="id" type="xs:ID"/>
  <xs:attribute name="class" type="xs:string"/>
  <xs:attribute name="style" type="xs:string"/>
</xs:attributeGroup>

<!-- Use in complex type -->
<xs:complexType name="DivType">
  <xs:sequence>
    <xs:any processContents="lax" 
            minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="unbounded"/>
  </xs:sequence>
  <xs:attributeGroup ref="CommonAttrs"/>
</xs:complexType>

Built-in XSD Data Types

String Types

xs:string
xs:normalizedString
xs:token
xs:Name
xs:NCName
xs:ID
xs:IDREF
xs:IDREFS
xs:language

Numeric Types

xs:integer
xs:positiveInteger
xs:negativeInteger
xs:nonNegativeInteger
xs:nonPositiveInteger
xs:long
xs:int
xs:short
xs:byte
xs:decimal
xs:float
xs:double

Date/Time Types

xs:date (2024-01-15)
xs:time (14:30:00)
xs:dateTime
xs:duration
xs:gYear (2024)
xs:gMonth (--01)
xs:gDay (---15)
xs:gYearMonth
xs:gMonthDay

Boolean & Binary

xs:boolean (true/false)
xs:base64Binary
xs:hexBinary

URI Types

xs:anyURI
xs:QName
xs:NOTATION

Special Types

xs:anyType
xs:anySimpleType

Namespaces

Declaring Namespaces

<xs:schema 
  xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
  xmlns:tns="http://example.com/myschema"
  targetNamespace="http://example.com/myschema"
  elementFormDefault="qualified"
  attributeFormDefault="unqualified">

  <!-- Elements will use the target namespace -->
  <xs:element name="root" type="tns:RootType"/>

</xs:schema>

Import External Schema

<xs:schema xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
           xmlns:ext="http://example.com/external">

  <!-- Import schema from different namespace -->
  <xs:import namespace="http://example.com/external" 
             schemaLocation="external.xsd"/>

  <!-- Include schema from same namespace -->
  <xs:include schemaLocation="common-types.xsd"/>

  <!-- Use imported type -->
  <xs:element name="data" type="ext:DataType"/>

</xs:schema>

Put Your Knowledge to Practice

Use our free tools to create, convert, and validate XSD schemas.

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