YAML to JSON Converter

The YAML to JSON Converter is a free online tool that convert yaml to json instantly with configurable indentation, pretty-print toggle, and detailed parse error reporting. 100% client-side.. It runs entirely in your browser with no installation or sign-up needed.

No. All parsing happens in your browser using js-yaml. Data never leaves your device.

js-yaml DEFAULT_SCHEMA supports YAML 1.2 core types: scalars, sequences, mappings, anchors, aliases, and multi-line strings.

YAML is indentation-sensitive. Common causes: mixing tabs and spaces, misaligned keys, unquoted special characters, missing space after colon.

Yes, the YAML to JSON Converter is 100% free with no registration, no hidden fees, and no usage limits. All processing happens locally in your browser, ensuring complete privacy.

Absolutely. The YAML to JSON Converter processes everything client-side in your browser. No data is uploaded to or stored on any server. Your content remains private on your device at all times.

Yes, the YAML to JSON Converter is fully responsive and works on smartphones and tablets. You can use it on any device with a modern web browser -- no app download required.

No account or registration is needed. Simply open the YAML to JSON Converter in your browser and start using it immediately. There are no sign-up walls or usage restrictions.

Simply enter your input in the provided field, adjust any settings to your preference, and the tool will process it instantly. You can then copy the result to your clipboard or download it.

The YAML to JSON Converter works in all modern browsers including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, and Opera. For the best experience, use the latest version of your preferred browser.

YAML and JSON describe the same kinds of data — scalars, lists, and key-value objects — but YAML is written for humans and JSON for machines. YAML uses indentation instead of braces, allows comments after a #, and supports anchors and aliases to reuse a block, which makes it the go-to for Kubernetes manifests, Docker Compose, and CI pipelines. JSON wraps everything in braces and brackets, forbids comments and trailing commas, and is what JavaScript, REST APIs, and most libraries parse natively. Because JSON is a subset of YAML 1.2, any valid JSON is also valid YAML, but the reverse is not true: comments and YAML-only formatting have no JSON equivalent and are dropped on conversion. Paste your YAML above to see the equivalent JSON appear instantly on the right.

No — comments do not survive the conversion, and that is correct behavior rather than a bug. JSON has no syntax for comments at all, so anything after a # in your YAML is discarded when the document is parsed into a data structure and re-serialized as JSON. The same applies to other YAML-only formatting choices: blank lines, your original indentation width, and the order of stylistic details are not preserved, because only the underlying data is carried across. Keys, values, nesting, and list order are all kept faithfully. If you need to retain documentation, move it into an actual data field — for example a description key — before converting, since that becomes real JSON data. Paste your YAML above and the JSON output reflects exactly the data your file contains.

Paste or type your YAML into the input panel, then switch the Output Format option from Pretty to Minified. Pretty writes nicely indented, readable JSON using your chosen indent size; Minified strips every space and line break so the entire document collapses onto a single line. Minified output is what you want when sending a compact API request, embedding JSON in an environment variable, or saving bytes in a build artifact, and the output panel shows the resulting size in B, KB, or MB so you can confirm how small it got. The conversion is live, so toggling between formats updates the result instantly with no convert button to press. When the single-line JSON looks right, use Copy Output to grab it or Download .json to save it. Paste your config above and flip to Minified to try it.

Two spaces is the most widely used convention for indented JSON because it keeps deeply nested structures compact and readable without pushing content far to the right, and it matches the default that tools like Prettier, npm, and most JavaScript projects emit. Four spaces is sometimes preferred in Python or Ansible-influenced codebases where wider indentation is the house style, while a literal tab character is occasional but can render inconsistently across editors. The choice is purely cosmetic: indentation affects only how the JSON looks, never what data it represents, so a parser reads all three identically. This tool lets you pick 2 spaces, 4 spaces, or Tab for Pretty output, so you can match whatever your project already uses. Paste your YAML above and switch indent sizes to see the formatting update live.

Yes. The converter uses js-yaml's DEFAULT_SCHEMA, which fully supports YAML 1.2 anchors and aliases — the &name and *name syntax that lets you define a block once and reuse it elsewhere in the same document. During parsing, each alias is resolved to the value its anchor points to, so the reused block is expanded inline in the output. JSON has no anchor concept, so the resulting JSON repeats that data wherever the alias appeared rather than referencing it; this is expected and keeps the JSON self-contained. The same schema also handles nested sequences and mappings, multi-line literal and folded strings, and standard scalars like numbers, booleans, and null. If a document fails to parse, the tool shows the parser's line-and-column error so you can fix it. Paste YAML with anchors above to watch them resolve into JSON.