YAML ↔ JSON Converter
Convert between YAML and JSON instantly in your browser
No data is sent to any server — everything runs client-side
YAML Input
Paste your YAML here
JSON Output
Converted result
What Is YAML?
YAML (YAML Ain't Markup Language) is a human-readable data serialization format that uses indentation to represent structure. Originally designed as a superset of JSON, YAML supports the same data types (strings, numbers, booleans, null, objects, arrays) but adds features like comments, multi-line strings, anchors/aliases, and custom tags.
YAML is the dominant configuration format in the cloud-native ecosystem: Kubernetes manifests, Docker Compose files, GitHub Actions workflows, Ansible playbooks, Helm charts, and CI/CD pipelines all use YAML. Its readability advantage over JSON comes at the cost of whitespace sensitivity — incorrect indentation silently changes the document's structure.
YAML vs JSON: Key Differences
| Feature | YAML | JSON |
|---|---|---|
| Comments | ✓ # comment | ✗ Not supported |
| Multi-line strings | ✓ | and > operators | ✗ Escaped \n only |
| Quoting | Optional for most strings | Double quotes required |
| Anchors & aliases | ✓ Reusable data blocks | ✗ |
| Readability | High (minimal syntax) | Medium (braces & brackets) |
| Parsing speed | Slower (complex grammar) | Faster (simpler grammar) |
When to Convert
Kubernetes & Docker
Convert K8s manifests or docker-compose.yml to JSON for programmatic manipulation with jq, API submissions, or language SDKs that only accept JSON.
CI/CD Pipelines
GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, and Azure Pipelines use YAML configs. Convert to JSON to debug parsing issues or generate configs programmatically.
API Payloads
Some APIs accept YAML (OpenAPI specs, CloudFormation). Convert between formats to match what your tools or clients expect.
Config Migration
Moving between tools that prefer different formats (e.g., JSON-based tsconfig.json to YAML-based equivalents or vice versa).
Common YAML Pitfalls
The Norway Problem
YAML 1.1 interprets NO, yes, on, off as booleans. Country code NO becomes false. Always quote ambiguous strings.
Tabs vs Spaces
YAML does not allow tabs for indentation — only spaces. Mixing tabs and spaces causes cryptic parsing errors.
Implicit typing
Values like 3.10 become the float 3.1, and 1e3 becomes 1000. Quote version numbers and similar strings.
Related Tools
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