JSON to YAML Converter

Convert JSON to clean, readable YAML

YAML is JSON's friendlier cousin. It supports the same data model — objects, arrays, strings, numbers, booleans, null — but uses indentation instead of braces and brackets, which makes config files much easier to read at a glance. YAML is the standard format for Kubernetes manifests, Ansible playbooks, GitHub Actions workflows, and many CI/CD pipelines. Converting JSON to YAML lets you take a config file from an API and turn it into something a human can edit comfortably.

The converter uses js-yaml, the same library that powers Webpack, Eleventy, and most JavaScript-based YAML tooling. It preserves key order, handles nested objects and arrays correctly, and quotes strings only when necessary to preserve the original value (for example, the string yes would be quoted because YAML would otherwise parse it as a boolean).

YAML is a superset of JSON

Every valid JSON document is also a valid YAML document, because YAML supports JSON's brace-and-bracket syntax inline. The reverse is not true — YAML has many features that JSON does not have (anchors, aliases, multi-line strings, tags, multi-document files). This means converting from JSON to YAML is always safe, but converting from YAML to JSON can lose information if you used YAML-only features.

When to use YAML, when to stick with JSON

Use YAML for human-authored config files. The indentation makes long files readable, and the comment syntax lets you explain non-obvious choices. Use JSON for machine-generated config and for any data that crosses a process boundary — JSON is faster to parse, has a smaller standard library surface, and does not have YAML's footguns (like the boolean-coercion rules that turn yes intotrue).

Indentation in YAML

YAML is strict about indentation. Two spaces per level is the universal convention — every YAML tool, every style guide, and every linter defaults to two spaces. Four spaces is supported but unusual. Tabs are forbidden by the spec for indentation, so Lintify does not expose that option. Pick two spaces unless you have a specific reason to pick four.