Convert YAML to JSON
We turn YAML into JSON right in your browser — the file never goes to a server.
What you will lose
- Comments are dropped: there is nowhere to put them.
How they differ
| YAML | JSON | |
|---|---|---|
| Nesting | no | no |
| Value types | no | no |
| Comments | no | no |
| Released | 2001 | 2001 |
| Author | Clark Evans, Ingy döt Net, Oren Ben-Kiki | Douglas Crockford |
YAML
Good at
- Reads like prose: indentation instead of braces
- Comments — the only one of the three that has them
- Nesting and types, same as JSON
Awkward about
- Indentation carries meaning: one space changes it
- Unquoted yes and no behave in surprising ways
- Parsing is heavier and slower than JSON
Use it when
- A configuration file edited by hand
- You need notes sitting next to the values
- The data is nested and a human will read it
JSON
Good at
- Nesting of any depth
- Numbers, strings, lists and null are told apart
- Read by everything that talks over a network
Awkward about
- No comments — nowhere to explain what a field means
- One stray comma breaks the whole file
- Harder for a human to read than YAML: braces and quotes
Use it when
- Exchange between programs and APIs
- The data is nested: objects inside objects
- You need a format that does not argue about what a number is
Common questions
- Does the file get uploaded to a server?
- No. YAML → JSON runs right in your browser and the file never leaves your device. It only goes to a server if the browser cannot cope — and then we delete it within a couple of hours.
- Is nesting preserved?
- Yes, JSON stores objects inside objects, so the structure arrives as it is.
- Can I get the original quality back afterwards?
- Yes, JSON supports lossless compression, so you can go back to the original.
- How many files, and how large?
- Up to 20 files at a time, 20 MB each. No sign-up, no watermarks.