YAML to JSON Converter
Paste a YAML config file or snippet and instantly convert it to clean JSON (and vice versa). Useful when working with GitHub Actions, Kubernetes manifests, CI/CD configs, Hugo/Jekyll front matter, and any tool that prefers JSON over YAML.
Input
Output
How to use the YAML to JSON Converter
Paste YAML or JSON. Pick a direction. The output updates in real time. YAML support handles nested objects, arrays, strings, numbers, booleans, and null — covers ~90% of real-world configs. Complex YAML features (anchors, references, multi-line strings) are not supported; for those use a proper YAML parser.
Why this tool matters
YAML is the dominant config format for modern devops — GitHub Actions, Kubernetes, Docker Compose, GitLab CI, Ansible, Hugo front matter. JSON is the dominant data-interchange format. Converting between them is a constant developer task, and our converter is the fastest way to do it without installing anything.
Common use cases
- Converting a docker-compose.yml to JSON for inspection
- Translating GitHub Actions workflow YAML to JSON
- Reading Kubernetes manifests in a tool that expects JSON
- Converting Hugo or Jekyll front matter between formats
- Quick validation of YAML structure by converting to JSON and checking nesting
- Preparing config data for APIs that only accept JSON
YAML vs. JSON: when to use which
YAML is more human-readable: comments, no quotes required for most strings, indentation-based structure, multi-line strings. JSON is more machine-friendly: strict syntax, universal parser support, well-defined edge cases. Devops uses YAML for configs (human-edited). APIs use JSON for payloads (machine-parsed). The two are essentially interchangeable for most config-level data.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my multi-line YAML string break?
Our parser does not support YAML\u2019s multi-line string syntax (| and >). For those use a dedicated YAML parser like js-yaml.
Can it handle YAML anchors and references (&, *)?
Not at present. Real-world configs rarely use them outside of advanced devops scenarios. For full YAML support use a proper parser.
Are JSON comments supported?
JSON does not officially support comments — the spec disallows them. Some flavors (JSON5, JSONC) do. Our converter treats input as standard JSON, which means comments in the input will produce parse errors.
What\u2019s the difference between YAML and JSON for arrays?
YAML uses “- item” on each line. JSON uses [“item1”, “item2”]. Same data, different syntax. Our converter handles both correctly.
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