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YAML to JSON Converter

Convert YAML configuration files to JSON format. Server-side conversion with full YAML support.

About YAML to JSON Conversion

YAML (YAML Ain't Markup Language) and JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) both represent structured data, but with different syntax and capabilities. YAML is popular for configuration files due to its readability and support for comments, while JSON is the standard format for API payloads due to its simplicity and universal parser support.

Key differences between YAML and JSON

  • Syntax — YAML uses indentation to indicate structure and doesn't require quotes for most string values. JSON uses braces {}, brackets [], and requires double-quoted strings.
  • Comments — YAML supports comments (# this is a comment). JSON does not support comments.
  • Multi-line strings — YAML supports multi-line strings natively with | (literal block) and > (folded block) syntax. In JSON, newlines must be escaped as \n.
  • Anchors and aliases — YAML supports &anchor and *alias for referencing the same value multiple times. JSON has no equivalent.

When to convert YAML to JSON

  • Sending data to an API that only accepts JSON
  • Working with tools or languages where JSON parsers are more widely available
  • Converting Kubernetes manifests or GitHub Actions workflows for programmatic processing
  • Inspecting the structure of a YAML config file in a more familiar format

Need the reverse? Use the JSON to YAML Converter.

Related tools

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Base64 Encode / Decode Encode text or data to Base64 format and decode Base64 strings back to plain tex… URL Encode / Decode Encode strings for safe use in URLs and decode percent-encoded URL strings. JSON Formatter & Validator Format, beautify and validate JSON with syntax highlighting and error detection. JSON to YAML Converter Convert JSON data to YAML format for cleaner configuration files.

Frequently asked questions

Does this support all YAML features?
Yes. Conversion is done server-side using PHP's Symfony YAML component (or the yaml extension), which supports anchors, aliases, multiline strings, and complex types.