Validating Crossref XML Locally Using xmllint

🧪 Crossref XML Validator Setup (Local Machine - Linux/Ubuntu on Windows)
This guide walks you through the steps to set up a Crossref XML validator locally using xmllint and Crossref XSD schemas.

✅ Prerequisites
Windows system with support for Linux distributions (via WSL - Windows Subsystem for Linux or a VM).

Internet access.

🖥️ Step 1: Install Ubuntu (or Any Linux Distro) on Windows
You can install Ubuntu via WSL:

Launch Ubuntu and complete the initial setup (username/password).

🔧 Step 2: Install xmllint
Once inside the Ubuntu shell:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install libxml2-utils

This installs xmllint, a command-line XML tool that can validate XML files against XSDs.

📦 Step 3: Clone Crossref Schema Repository
Download all available versions of Crossref XSD files:


git clone https://gitlab.com/crossref/schema.git
Navigate to the cloned folder:
cd schema/schemas

You will see directories for multiple schema versions (e.g., crossref5.3.1.xsd, etc.).

📁 Step 4: Prepare Your XML File
Place your Crossref-generated XML file (gen.xml) either:

Inside the schema/schemas folder, or

Anywhere on your local filesystem (just provide the correct path during validation).

✅ Step 5: Validate XML Using xmllint
Run the following command:


xmllint --noout --schema [path-to-xsd-file] [path-to-xml-file]
Example:
xmllint --noout --schema crossref5.3.1.xsd gen.xml


--noout: Prevents printing of the parsed XML.

--schema: Specifies the XSD file to validate against.

gen.xml: Your Crossref XML file.