Why does my YAML have weird quoting?

js-yaml auto-quotes strings that look like numbers, booleans, or YAML keywords (yes/no/on/off) to preserve their string type. This is correct behavior — un-quoting them would change the type after a round-trip.

Can YAML express everything JSON can?

Yes for data structures. YAML adds anchors (&), aliases (*), and tags (!) that JSON doesn't have — those features are lost when converting YAML→JSON→YAML, but the data values are preserved.

Why prefer YAML for config?

Better readability for humans (no quotes around keys, no commas, supports comments), terser for nested structures. JSON wins for API serialization (faster to parse, no ambiguity, supported in every language out of the box).

Is the conversion lossless?

For data — yes. For YAML-specific features (comments, anchors, custom tags, type tags) — no, those are stripped on the JSON side.

JSON ↔ YAML Converter

Utility

Convert between JSON and YAML in either direction. Live preview, parse-error reporting, copy + download.

Utility

JSON ↔ YAML Converter

Generated on April 25, 2026

JSONYAML

Input (JSON)

Output (YAML)

?What is the JSON ↔ YAML Converter?

The JSON ↔ YAML converter translates configuration data between the two most common structured-data formats. JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is the default for web APIs and config files in most modern stacks; YAML (YAML Ain't Markup Language) is the standard for Kubernetes, Docker Compose, GitHub Actions, Ansible, and many DevOps tools. The conversion is structurally lossless: nested objects, arrays, booleans, nulls, numbers, and strings round-trip cleanly. Powered by js-yaml, which implements the YAML 1.2 specification.

The Formula

Round-trip: JSON.parse(json) → js-yaml.dump → YAML; js-yaml.load(yaml) → JSON.stringify → JSON. Numbers, booleans, null, arrays, and objects are preserved structurally.

Practical Examples

Convert a Kubernetes manifest from YAML to JSON for use with `kubectl --output=json`.

Convert a `package.json` snippet to YAML for an Ansible playbook.

Convert a Docker Compose `docker-compose.yml` to JSON for programmatic editing.

Convert GitHub Actions YAML workflows to JSON when integrating with custom automation.

Convert a Postman/Insomnia API response from JSON to YAML for documentation.

Frequently Asked Questions

YAML 1.2 is officially a superset — every valid JSON is valid YAML. So converting JSON to YAML almost always works; the reverse depends on the YAML using only JSON-compatible features (no anchors/aliases, no custom tags).

Popular Conversions

Jump to a ready-made conversion — useful for quick reference and sharing:

Base Converter

Convert between binary, decimal, hexadecimal, and octal number systems.

Unix Timestamp Converter

Convert between Unix epoch timestamps and human-readable dates.

Color Converter

Convert between HEX, RGB, and HSL color formats with live preview.

JSON ↔ YAML Converter

JSON ↔ YAML Converter

?What is the JSON ↔ YAML Converter?

The Formula

Practical Examples

Frequently Asked Questions

Is YAML a superset of JSON?

Why does my YAML have weird quoting?

Can YAML express everything JSON can?

Why prefer YAML for config?

Is the conversion lossless?

Popular Conversions

Explore More Tools