XML Input

YAML Output

What is XML to YAML Converter?

Need to convert your XML to YAML? This tool does that instantly. YAML is human-readable and great for configuration files, while XML is perfect for structured data. Convert between them whenever you need.

The mapping is simple and predictable. The root element becomes the top-level key, child elements become nested keys, and an element that repeats becomes a YAML list. Attributes go under an @attributes key, and text that sits next to attributes or child elements goes under #text. CDATA content is treated as ordinary text, so an embedded script or HTML snippet comes through intact.

XML has no data types, so every value stays a string. That is why you will see port: '08080' or version: '1.10' in quotes: without them a YAML parser would read a number and drop the leading zero or the trailing zero. Everything runs in your browser and nothing is uploaded. The YAML 1.2 spec covers the quoting rules if you are curious.

How to Use XML to YAML

Follow these steps to convert XML to YAML. Each step uses the actual buttons and panels on this page.

Paste, Upload, or Load Sample

Paste XML into the left XML Input panel, or click Upload to load a file. Click Sample to load example telecomm XML. Example:

<subscribers><subscriber><subscriberId>SUB-1001</subscriberId><plan>Unlimited 5G</plan><dataUsage>45.2</dataUsage></subscriber></subscribers>

Use Clear to start fresh. If the XML is not well-formed, the parser's error appears in the output panel.

View YAML Output

The right YAML Output panel updates as you type. Elements become keys, repeated elements become lists, attributes sit under @attributes, and empty elements become null.

Download or Copy

Click Download to save the .yaml file, or Copy to copy it to your clipboard. You will usually rename a few keys by hand before dropping the result into a Compose file or a Helm values file.

When You'd Actually Use This

Config File Conversion

Convert XML configs to YAML for Docker Compose, Kubernetes, or CI/CD pipelines. YAML is more readable for configuration files.

Legacy to Modern

Migrate XML-based configurations to YAML format. Great for modernizing legacy systems or moving to containerized deployments.

Format Preference

Some teams prefer YAML for its readability. Convert XML to YAML when you need that human-friendly format for configs or documentation.

Tool Compatibility

Some tools require YAML format. Convert your XML data to YAML when working with tools like Ansible, Kubernetes, or GitHub Actions.

Common Questions

Is my XML uploaded?

No. Conversion happens in your browser; your XML never leaves your computer.

What XML works?

Any well-formed XML document: elements, attributes, namespaces (prefixes stay in the key names), CDATA and mixed content. Comments and processing instructions are dropped because YAML has nowhere to put them. Inputs over 5 MB are refused.

How is mixed content handled?

In something like <p>Hi <b>Ava</b> there</p>, the child elements become keys and the surrounding text pieces are trimmed and joined into #text (Hi there). The position of the text relative to the children is not kept, so YAML is a poor fit for document-style XML.

Are numbers and booleans converted?

No. XML text has no type, so values stay strings, and YAML quotes the ones that would otherwise be read as numbers, booleans or null. If you want real numbers in the YAML, remove the quotes for those keys after converting.

Can I convert YAML back to XML?

Yes. Use the YAML to XML converter. The @attributes and #text keys make the round trip easier, though key order and comments may differ.

What about special characters?

js-yaml takes care of YAML escaping, so values with colons, quotes, # or leading dashes are quoted where needed. See the js-yaml project for the details of its output style.

Other XML Tools You Might Need

Conversion is just one XML task. Here are other tools that work well together: