What is YAML Formatter?

YAML Formatter is a tool for formatting YAML files into readable format with proper indentation. Critical for Kubernetes, Docker Compose, GitHub Actions, where indentation has syntactic meaning.

Why is indentation in YAML so important?

In YAML, indentation defines data structure (like brackets in JSON). Wrong indentation changes hierarchy or causes syntax error. Tabs are forbidden — only spaces.

2 spaces is the de facto standard. Kubernetes, Docker, CI/CD tools expect exactly 2 spaces. 4 spaces are rarer and may cause issues with some parsers.

Does the tool validate YAML?

Yes. YAML is fully parsed during formatting. Indentation errors, duplicate keys, wrong data types will be detected.

Is multi-document YAML supported?

Yes. YAML with multiple documents (separated by ---) is handled correctly. Each document is formatted separately.

Is it safe to paste configs with secrets?

Yes. Formatting is done in the browser. Data is not sent to the server. You can use it for configs with passwords and API keys.

How is YAML different from JSON?

YAML is more human-readable: no brackets or quotes, structure defined by indentation. JSON is stricter and better for machine processing. YAML is a JSON superset: any JSON is valid YAML.

Kubernetes manifests, Docker Compose, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Ansible playbooks, Spring Boot configs, Swagger/OpenAPI, Helm charts, application configuration.

Why is YAML popular in DevOps?

YAML is readable without a parser, supports comments, convenient for configs. Kubernetes chose YAML for easy manual editing and good editor support.

How to avoid YAML errors?

Use an editor with highlighting (VS Code + YAML extension). Never use tabs. Validate YAML before applying: yamllint or kubectl --dry-run for Kubernetes.

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YAML Formatter

YAML Formatter

Transform YAML into readable format with proper indentation. Syntax validation and automatic formatting for DevOps configs.

Options

Indent

Number of spaces for indentation

All About YAML Formatting

When you need YAML Formatter

When working with Kubernetes manifests, Docker Compose files, CI/CD pipelines. Wrong indentation in YAML = broken deployment. Formatter helps avoid errors.

YAML in Kubernetes

Kubernetes uses YAML to describe all resources: Deployments, Services, ConfigMaps, Secrets. An indentation error can break a pod or entire cluster. Always validate YAML.

Common YAML errors

Tabs instead of spaces, inconsistent indentation, missing space after colon, unquoted strings with special characters, duplicate keys, incorrect multiline strings.

YAML anchors and aliases

YAML supports anchors (&name) and aliases (*name) to avoid duplication. Formatter preserves them correctly. Useful for reusing configs in large files.

Tools for working with YAML

VS Code with YAML extension (error highlighting), yamllint (linter), yq (command line, like jq for JSON), kubeval/kubeconform (Kubernetes validation), Lens/K9s (Kubernetes UI).

How to format YAML

Paste YAML

Enter YAML in the text field or upload a .yaml/.yml file. Files up to 5 MB are supported.

Choose indent

Standard for YAML is 2 spaces. This is mandatory for Kubernetes and most tools.

Copy result

Click "Format" and copy the formatted YAML. Syntax errors will show problem description.

JSON Formatter

Format JSON in seconds. Beautify, prettify, validate. Works in browser, no registration. C...

Formatters