Is my data safe when using this JSON to YAML converter?

Yes. Conversion runs entirely in your browser. Your data is never sent to any server. Works for sensitive configs with API keys or credentials.

JSON to YAML Converter

Paste JSON — clean YAML output appears instantly. Free, no signup required.

Direction

Indent:

JSON Input

Auto-converts on paste

YAML Output

YAML will appear here
Paste JSON on the left

Invalid JSON

Input: -

Output: -

Lines: -

Free Online JSON to YAML Converter — No Signup Required

Convert JSON to YAML (or YAML back to JSON) instantly with our free online converter. Paste any valid JSON into the left panel and get clean, human-readable YAML output in real time — no button clicks, no accounts, no server uploads. Toggle to YAML → JSON mode to reverse the conversion. Processing happens entirely in your browser using js-yaml v4 — your data never leaves your device.

How to Use This JSON to YAML Converter

Select JSON → YAML or YAML → JSON from the direction toggle in the toolbar
Paste your input into the left panel — conversion starts automatically
Adjust the indent width (2 or 4 spaces) from the dropdown on the right of the toolbar
Click Copy YAML (or Copy JSON) to send the result to your clipboard
Click Download .yaml (or Download .json) to save the file directly

What is YAML?

YAML (YAML Ain't Markup Language) is a human-readable data serialization format designed for configuration files and data that needs to be edited by people. It uses indentation to represent structure instead of braces and brackets, making it significantly less noisy than JSON for complex nested configs.

YAML is the native format for Kubernetes manifests, Docker Compose files, GitHub Actions workflows, Ansible playbooks, Helm charts, and most CI/CD pipeline configs (CircleCI, Travis CI, GitLab CI). The workflow of pulling a JSON API response or config and converting it to YAML is extremely common in DevOps and infrastructure work — which is exactly what this tool is for.

JSON vs YAML — When to Use Each

Feature	JSON	YAML
Syntax	Braces, brackets, commas, all strings quoted	Indentation-based, minimal punctuation
Human-editable	Moderate	Excellent
API payloads	Universal standard	Rarely used
Config files	Common	Preferred (K8s, Docker, CI/CD)
Comments	Not supported	Supported (`#`)
Whitespace-sensitive	No	Yes — indentation matters
Browser parsing	Native (`JSON.parse`)	Requires library (js-yaml)

Example Conversion

Input JSON:

{
  "name": "my-app",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "replicas": 3,
  "enabled": true,
  "tags": ["production", "web"],
  "resources": {
    "cpu": "500m",
    "memory": "256Mi"
  }
}

Output YAML:

name: my-app
version: 1.0.0
replicas: 3
enabled: true
tags:
  - production
  - web
resources:
  cpu: 500m
  memory: 256Mi

Common Use Cases

Kubernetes deployment manifests — Convert JSON output from kubectl get or a JSON-based config to YAML for readable manifests.
Docker Compose — Transform a JSON services definition into Docker Compose's YAML format.
GitHub Actions workflows — GitHub Actions uses YAML; convert JSON config snippets for workflow files.
Ansible playbooks — Ansible is YAML-native; this converter bridges JSON-based infrastructure data.
Helm chart values — Paste JSON values.json content and get Helm-compatible values.yaml output.
CI/CD pipelines — CircleCI, GitLab CI, and Travis CI all use YAML. Convert JSON environment specs in seconds.
YAML to JSON for APIs — Use the reverse direction to convert a YAML config into JSON for programmatic consumption or API calls.

When you need to format or validate the JSON before converting, use our JSON Formatter. To compare two JSON structures, try our JSON Diff tool. For unique ID generation, see the UUID Generator.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this JSON to YAML converter free?

Yes, completely free. No signup, no account, no rate limits. All conversion runs in your browser — there is no backend service processing your data. Works offline once the page is loaded.

Can I convert YAML back to JSON?

Yes. Click the YAML → JSON toggle in the toolbar. Paste your YAML on the left and get formatted JSON on the right. The conversion is bidirectional — the same tool handles both directions.

What JSON types does the converter support?

All JSON types: objects (mapped to YAML mappings), arrays (mapped to YAML sequences with - indicators), strings (quoted when necessary), numbers, booleans (true/false), and null. Nested structures of any depth are handled correctly.

Is the YAML output valid for Kubernetes and Docker Compose?

Yes. The output is standard YAML 1.2 produced by js-yaml, which is compatible with all YAML parsers used in Kubernetes, Docker Compose, GitHub Actions, Ansible, Helm, and other DevOps tooling. Always review the output before deploying to production configs.

What library does the converter use?

The conversion uses js-yaml v4.1.0, the most widely used JavaScript YAML library with over 100 million weekly npm downloads. It produces spec-compliant YAML 1.2 output and is used in tools like webpack, ESLint, and many CI/CD systems.

Is my data safe?

Completely. The conversion runs entirely in your browser using JavaScript. Your JSON or YAML data is never sent to any server. This is especially important for sensitive configs containing API keys, credentials, or private infrastructure details — they stay on your machine.

Why does YAML use fewer quotes than JSON?

YAML only quotes strings that would be ambiguous without quotes — strings that look like numbers ("123"), booleans ("true"), or null ("null"). Plain strings like my-app or New York don't need quotes. The converter handles this automatically via js-yaml's dump rules.

What is the difference between YAML 1.1 and YAML 1.2?

YAML 1.1 treated yes, no, on, off as booleans, which caused many subtle bugs (e.g., country code "NO" for Norway parsed as false). YAML 1.2 (2009) fixed this — only true and false are booleans. This converter uses js-yaml 4.x which is YAML 1.2 compliant by default. Kubernetes uses a YAML 1.2 parser as well.

Does YAML support comments?

Yes — YAML supports comments with the # character (everything after # on a line is a comment). JSON does not support comments. This converter does not add comments to output, but if you're editing YAML manually after conversion, you can freely add them. Note: comments are stripped if you then parse the YAML back to JSON.

How do I convert a JSON array to YAML?

Paste your JSON array directly (e.g., ["a", "b", "c"]) into the input. The converter handles root-level arrays — you'll get a YAML sequence with - list indicators. Arrays nested inside objects also convert correctly.

Why is my YAML indented with 2 spaces instead of 4?

2-space indentation is the default and is the convention used by most Kubernetes, Docker Compose, and GitHub Actions configs. You can change to 4 spaces using the Indent dropdown in the toolbar. Both are valid YAML.