JSON to YAML Converter

YAML is the configuration language of Kubernetes, Docker Compose, GitHub Actions, Ansible and many CI tools, while APIs and generators usually produce JSON. YAML 1.2 accepts JSON syntax, but block-style YAML is often easier to edit. This converter rewrites JSON as idiomatic block-style YAML — no braces, no commas, quotes only where they are needed — and then reads the result back to check the parsed values.

How to use this tool

1. Paste your JSON object or array.
2. Pick 2-space indentation (the common default) or 4 spaces.
3. Choose how lists are indented; both styles are valid YAML.
4. Optionally sort keys or force double quotes on every string, then copy the YAML.

Formula

Objects → key: value lines; arrays → "- item" lines; nested values are indented one level. Strings are quoted only when the plain form would be read as something else.

A string needs quotes when it looks like a number, boolean or null ("123", "true", "null"), is a YAML 1.1 boolean such as "yes", "no", "on" or "off", or contains characters like ": " and " #". Multi-line strings use the | block style. Long lines are never folded, so values stay on one line.

Example

The sample service definition becomes 11 lines of YAML starting service: api, replicas: 3, debug: false. The env values stay strings: NODE_ENV: production is plain, and PORT: '8080' is quoted so it is not read as a number. ports turns into two "- 80" / "- 443" lines, owner becomes null, and the description containing ": " is wrapped in single quotes.