YAML ↔ JSON Converter
Convert between YAML and JSON formats in both directions. Great for config files and APIs.
YAML and JSON are both human-readable data serialization formats, but they serve different purposes in practice. JSON is the standard for APIs and machine-to-machine communication, while YAML is preferred for configuration files (Docker Compose, Kubernetes, GitHub Actions, Ansible) because of its minimal syntax. Converting between the two is a common task when integrating tools, migrating configurations, or working with APIs that require JSON input from YAML-defined data.
📋 How to Use This Calculator
Select the conversion direction — YAML to JSON or JSON to YAML — using the toggle buttons. Paste your input in the text area and click Convert. For YAML input, the tool parses key-value pairs, nested objects (via indentation), and lists (items starting with -). For JSON input, it converts the object hierarchy to YAML's indented block format. Both directions handle nested structures, arrays, booleans, null values, numbers, and quoted strings. The converter is designed for common configuration file formats.
💡 Key Facts & Information
YAML is a superset of JSON — any valid JSON is technically valid YAML, but not vice versa. YAML supports features JSON does not: comments (# comment), multi-line strings (using | or > block scalars), anchors and aliases for reuse, and multiple documents in one file separated by ---. This converter handles the most common YAML subset used in configuration files. Complex YAML features like anchors (&) and merge keys (<<:) are not supported in this basic converter. For production use, dedicated libraries like js-yaml (npm) or PyYAML handle the full YAML specification.