XML Sitemap Checker & URL Extractor
The XML Sitemap Checker & URL Extractor validates a submitted sitemap, parses sitemap indexes, and extracts the declared URLs with their loc and lastmod values. An XML sitemap gives crawlers a structured list of URLs that a publisher wants discovered.
What an XML sitemap does
An XML sitemap is a file that lists URLs a publisher wants search engines to discover and crawl. A sitemap finder locates that file, a sitemap reader or parser extracts the URLs it declares, and a sitemap validator checks whether the structure meets the protocol. The file is a discovery aid, so a listed URL is a declaration rather than a request for indexing.
The sitemap protocol defines a small XML vocabulary: a urlset of url entries, each with a required loc value and optional lastmod, changefreq, and priority values. Sitemap indexes point at further sitemap documents so a large site can be described across several files.
Crawlers treat the file as one input among many. Internal links, redirects, canonical declarations, and page quality all affect whether a listed URL is crawled and indexed.
What a sitemap file looks like
A urlset holds url entries with a required loc value, and a sitemapindex holds sitemap entries that name further files.
URL set
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9"> <url> <loc>https://example.com/pricing</loc> <lastmod>2026-09-14</lastmod> </url></urlset>Sitemap index
<sitemapindex> <sitemap> <loc>https://example.com/sitemap-posts.xml</loc> </sitemap></sitemapindex>Sitemap structure that crawlers accept
A valid sitemap is well-formed XML with a supported root element, a urlset for URLs or a sitemapindex for child sitemaps, and a loc value inside every entry.
Root element and namespace
The root element decides how the file is read. A urlset contains url entries, and a sitemapindex contains sitemap entries that each name another file. A document that mixes the two, or omits the namespace the protocol expects, fails parsing before any URL is considered.
Absolute loc values
Each loc value must be an absolute URL. A relative path leaves the crawler without a host to fetch, and the entry is discarded rather than resolved against the sitemap location.
Duplicate entries
Duplicate loc values do not extend coverage. A crawler that sees the same URL twice records one URL, so duplicates point to a generator that concatenates several sources without deduplicating.
How sitemap limits and indexes work
The protocol permits up to 50,000 URLs and 50 MB uncompressed per file, so a site beyond either limit is normally described through a sitemap index rather than one large file.
What a sitemap index changes
A sitemap index removes the single-file size ceiling but not the per-file limits. Each child file still carries its own URL count and byte limit, and the index itself must stay inside the same limits.
How this tool’s reader limits differ
This browser tool reads up to 10 MiB of decoded XML per document, returns at most 10,000 locations, and caps its JSON response at 5 MiB. Those reader limits sit below the protocol limits, so a large index is reported as partial with the processed evidence rather than as an invalid file.
Reading a partial result
When a traversal stops at a limit, the report labels the result partial. A partial extraction is not a validation verdict, and the unvisited child files remain unchecked.
What loc and lastmod values mean
A loc value declares the URL, and a lastmod value declares when the publisher says that URL last changed.
lastmod syntax validation
The checker validates lastmod syntax against the supported W3C date and date-time forms. It reports a malformed value with the entry that carried it, because an unparseable value is ignored by consumers.
lastmod is a publisher declaration
A syntactically valid lastmod is still a publisher declaration. The date can be stale, and it does not prove that the page changed or that a crawler will revisit it sooner.
Duplicate and malformed entry evidence
Duplicate identities and malformed locations stay visible in the extracted list so a generator defect can be corrected at its source instead of being inferred from a count.
What a valid sitemap does not guarantee
A sitemap that parses correctly does not guarantee discovery, crawling, canonical selection, or indexing for any URL it lists.
Listed URLs are declarations only
Extracted locations are declarations. The extractor does not fetch each page, so a listed URL can still be blocked in robots.txt, carry a noindex directive, redirect elsewhere, or return an error.
Submitting the sitemap after validation
A validated sitemap still has to be handed to a search engine. The Search Console sitemaps report is where a submitted location is recorded and where its discovered URL count is reported, so submission is the step that turns a correct file into a discovery request. A sitemap read directly by whichever tool you use, or viewed as a plain list of locations, shows the same declarations and changes nothing about discovery on its own.
Checking page-level signals next
Use the Robots.txt Tester for crawl rules, the Noindex Checker for indexing directives, the Canonical Tag Checker for canonical declarations, and the Redirect Checker for redirect evidence. Correct sitemap structure first, then check the page-level signals the sitemap cannot describe.
Sitemap limits versus this tool’s reader limits
| Limit | Sitemap protocol | XML Sitemap Checker & URL Extractor |
|---|---|---|
| URLs per file | 50,000 | 10,000 locations returned |
| Uncompressed size | 50 MB | 10 MiB of decoded XML per document |
| Sitemaps per index | 50,000 | 40 subrequests per traversal |
| Gzipped files | Supported | Supported |
Using the XML Sitemap Checker & URL Extractor
What the XML Sitemap Checker & URL Extractor checks and reports
Distinguish well-formed supported sitemap XML from parser errors, unsupported root elements and missing required locations. The result identifies the visited document and failure class, while keeping an unavailable, oversized or interrupted response separate from an invalid sitemap verdict.
Return up to 10,000 declared loc values with their source sitemap document, normalized identity and declared lastmod value. Duplicate identities and malformed locations remain visible as entry evidence, without implying that any extracted page was fetched or accepted by a search engine.
Traverse supported sitemap indexes within explicit document, response-size, redirect, subrequest and runtime limits. The file summary shows visited documents and extracted counts, and identifies a capped or failed child traversal as partial rather than presenting the parent index as completely processed.
Report malformed locations, duplicate URL identities and invalid lastmod syntax with the source document and entry attached. A syntactically valid lastmod remains a publisher declaration, not verified freshness, page modification evidence or a promise that crawlers will revisit the location.
When to use the XML Sitemap Checker & URL Extractor
Run the XML Sitemap Checker to audit a sitemap inventory, investigate malformed entries or verify a supported sitemap index before submission.
How to use the XML Sitemap Checker & URL Extractor
Example: enter https://example.com/sitemap.xml to extract declared locations and flag malformed loc or lastmod values.
Common XML Sitemap Checker & URL Extractor issues and fixes
When parsing fails, use the reported document, failure class and parser evidence to correct the malformed XML, unsupported root or missing loc value. Preserve namespaces and required elements when regenerating the file. Publish the correction and rerun the checker; a network or size-limit failure must be resolved before XML validity can be concluded.
Correct a flagged lastmod value to a supported W3C date or date-time form, then regenerate the sitemap. The checker validates syntax only: a valid timestamp can still be stale or inaccurate, so freshness remains the publisher’s responsibility.
Extracted locations are declarations, not page audits. Use the Redirect Checker for redirect evidence, the Canonical Tag Checker for canonical declarations and the Robots.txt Tester for crawl rules. Do not remove a sitemap URL based on an unperformed secondary fetch.
Understanding your XML Sitemap Checker & URL Extractor results
The report separates parse status, visited sitemap documents, extracted locations, duplicates and entry-level issues without fetching every listed page.
Limitation: The checker fetches sitemap documents and parses supported XML; it does not fetch each extracted page. It returns at most 10,000 locations, reads up to 10 MiB of decoded XML per document and caps JSON responses at 5 MiB while retaining redirect, 40-subrequest and runtime limits. These lower limits protect the Worker’s 128 MB memory ceiling, CPU time, serialization and browser rendering. Large or interrupted sitemap-index trees are labelled partial with processed evidence rather than silently presented as complete. Fetch, compression, encoding and parser failures remain distinct. Successful parsing cannot establish that search engines discovered, crawled, selected or indexed any declared URL, and lastmod syntax cannot establish that the date is truthful.
Frequently asked questions
What are the XML sitemap file limits?
The sitemap protocol permits up to 50,000 locations and 50 MB uncompressed per file. This browser tool intentionally returns at most 10,000 records, reads up to 10 MiB of decoded XML per document and caps JSON responses at 5 MiB because Worker memory, CPU time, serialization and browser rendering remain bounded. A cap reached during index traversal produces a partial result rather than a false validation verdict.
Does a valid sitemap guarantee indexing?
No. A valid sitemap gives crawlers a structured list of declared locations, but it does not guarantee crawling, canonical selection or indexing. Use the extracted evidence to correct sitemap structure, then inspect page-level redirects, canonicals, robots rules and noindex directives with the related tools.
Should a sitemap list every URL on a site?
A sitemap performs best when it lists canonical, indexable, returnable URLs. Listing redirected, blocked, or noindexed URLs adds entries a crawler cannot use, and listing duplicate parameter variants spreads the same signal across several declarations.
Does lastmod affect how often Google crawls a URL?
Google reads lastmod as a freshness declaration and can use an accurate value when it schedules a recrawl. This checker validates the syntax of the value, so a well-formed date that does not match the page still misdescribes the content.
How do I find a site’s sitemap?
The file is declared in robots.txt on a Sitemap line and lives at a path the publisher chose, such as /sitemap.xml, /sitemap_index.xml, or /sitemap-index.xml. Enter the declared location rather than guessing several addresses, because a 404 path tells you nothing about the sitemap that exists.
Monitor URLs over time
Sitemaps drift as generators, plugins and publishing pipelines change. Monitor your sitemap URLs and their index status on a schedule.