JSON to YAML Converter

How to convert JSON to YAML

1. Paste your JSON, open a .json file, or click Load Sample.
2. Click Convert to YAML. If the JSON has a syntax error, the line is highlighted, and Repair can fix common mistakes such as trailing commas.
3. Copy the YAML or download it as a .yaml file.

Example

{
  "service": "orders",
  "replicas": 3,
  "env": { "LOG_LEVEL": "info", "REGION": "no" },
  "ports": [8080, 9090],
  "motd": "Welcome\nRead the docs first"
}

becomes

service: orders
replicas: 3
env:
  LOG_LEVEL: info
  REGION: "no"
ports:
- 8080
- 9090
motd: |-
  Welcome
  Read the docs first

Objects become indented blocks, arrays become - lists, and a string with line breaks becomes a |- block that's easy to read and edit. Key order stays the same as in your JSON.

Why some values get quotes

Quotes are added only where leaving them out would change the meaning when the YAML is read back:

• "no", "yes", "on", "off", "y" and "n", which older YAML parsers read as booleans (Norway's country code is the classic example).
• Strings that look like numbers, such as "55000", "0123" or "1.10", so IDs, ZIP codes and versions stay strings.
• "true" and "null" as text, and strings containing : or starting with characters like *, &, # or @.
• The empty string, written as "".

Real numbers, booleans and null from the JSON are written without quotes.

Kubernetes, OpenAPI and CI files

Most tools accept JSON, but people read YAML. Converting is handy when you:

• Turn kubectl get deployment app -o json output into a manifest you can edit and commit.
• Convert an OpenAPI or Swagger spec exported as JSON into the YAML your docs repo uses.
• Write a GitHub Actions, GitLab CI or Docker Compose file starting from JSON a script produced.

Since YAML 1.2 is a superset of JSON, the conversion never loses data. Going back with the YAML to JSON converter gives you the same JSON.

Converting JSON to YAML in code

# Python (pip install pyyaml)
import json, yaml
print(yaml.safe_dump(json.load(open('data.json')), sort_keys=False))

// Node.js (npm install js-yaml)
const yaml = require('js-yaml');
console.log(yaml.dump(JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync('data.json', 'utf8'))));

# Command line with yq
yq -P data.json

Pass sort_keys=False in Python, otherwise PyYAML sorts the keys alphabetically.

Frequently asked questions

Other tools

• JSON & XML FormatterFormat, validate and convert JSON or XML in one place.
• JSON FormatterBeautify, validate, minify and repair JSON.
• XML FormatterPretty-print XML and check that it is well-formed.
• CSV ConverterTurn CSV into JSON, XML or SQL INSERT statements.
• TOML ConverterConvert JSON or XML to TOML config files.
• Object MapperTurn JSON into Java, TypeScript, Go, Kotlin, Rust or Pydantic types.
• JSON & XML CompareSee what changed between two versions, by path.
• JSON SchemaGenerate a schema from a sample, or validate against one.
• JWT DecoderRead claims, check expiry and verify signatures.
• Encode / DecodeBase64, URL, JSON strings, hex and timestamps.
• SQL FormatterBeautify or minify SQL for every major database.
• Regex TesterTest regular expressions with live matches and explanations.
• UUID GeneratorUUID v4, v7, ULID and Nano ID in bulk.
• JSON ValidatorCheck JSON syntax and see the exact line of every error.
• JSON ViewerExplore JSON as a collapsible tree with search and JSONPath.
• JSON MinifierStrip whitespace from JSON for smaller payloads.
• JSON to XMLConvert JSON into well-formed XML.
• XML to JSONConvert XML, attributes and all, into JSON.
• JSON to CSVTurn a JSON array into an Excel-ready CSV file.
• YAML to JSONConvert YAML back to JSON, anchors and all.
• YAML ValidatorCheck YAML for errors and convert Spring Boot properties to YAML.
• All toolsEvery formatter, converter and generator on the site.