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YAML to XML Converter

This free YAML to XML converter turns YAML text into clean, well-formed XML straight in your browser. Paste your YAML, press Convert, and get XML you can copy or download as a .xml file. Everything happens on your own device — nothing is uploaded to any server, so config files, API settings, and private data stay private. It also works as a quick YAML checker: if your YAML is broken, it tells you the line and column instead of failing silently.

How it works

YAML and XML describe the same kind of data — names paired with values, nested inside each other — but they look very different. YAML is built for people: it uses indentation and dashes instead of brackets, so a config file reads almost like an outline. XML is built for systems: it wraps every value in opening and closing tags, so any XML parser can read it without guessing. That is why the same settings, catalog, or data feed often exists in both forms, and why developers need to move between them. This converter reads the YAML outline and rebuilds it as XML, keeping every value, every list, and every level of nesting intact.

The conversion follows the shape of your YAML. A line such as name: Maya becomes an element, <name>Maya</name>. A key with nothing after its colon, followed by indented lines, becomes a nested element — so address: with city: Denver underneath becomes <address><city>Denver</city></address>, with each level indented further. Lines that start with a dash become repeated child elements inside the parent, in the same order. The child name is the singular form of the list key when it ends in "s", so a hobbies list of reading, hiking, and cooking becomes <hobbies> holding three <hobby> elements, and a tags list becomes repeated <tag> elements. If the key has no plural ending, the children are called <item>. A list of mappings works the same way: each dash item becomes one repeated element holding its own nested fields.

Scalars pass through as text content. Numbers stay numbers, so age: 28 becomes <age>28</age> and total: 59.99 becomes <total>59.99</total>. Booleans become the words true or false as text, and a null value — written as null, a tilde (~), or an empty value — becomes an empty element such as <note/>. Dates are kept as plain text exactly as written, which is the safe choice, because different tools read YAML dates differently. Quoted strings keep their exact text, including spaces and punctuation that would otherwise confuse a parser.

All text is escaped so the output is always well-formed XML. An ampersand becomes &, a less-than sign becomes <, a greater-than sign becomes >, and quotes become " and '. That matters when real data contains characters like & in "Fish & Chips" — without escaping, the XML would break the moment a parser read it. Element names are cleaned up too: spaces and other characters that are not allowed in XML tag names are replaced with underscores, and a key that starts with a digit gets a prefix, so the output is always valid even when the YAML keys are messy.

Three options shape the output. The root element name is root by default, and you can change it to anything that fits your target system — person, order, config, or a name your API expects. Indent chooses 2 or 4 spaces so the output matches the style your project already uses. The XML declaration toggle adds the <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> line at the top; keep it on for files you save and feed to other tools, and turn it off when you are pasting a fragment into a larger document that already has one. Use the Copy button to grab the XML, or Download to save it as a .xml file. The Load sample button restores the example if you want to experiment and start over, and conversion happens live as you type, so you can watch the XML change with every edit.

The converter also checks your YAML while it works, which makes it useful even when you only want to find a mistake. YAML is fussy about indentation: it must use spaces, never tabs, and lines at the same level must line up exactly. A missing space after a colon, an unclosed quote, or an unclosed bracket will stop the conversion, and the error message names the line and column so you can go straight to the problem. Fix that line and convert again. That quick check saves a lot of time when a config file refuses to load and the real cause is one stray space a few lines down.

Worked example

A developer has a small YAML block describing a person and needs it as XML for an older system that only reads XML:

Step 1: Paste the YAML into the input box:
name: Maya
age: 28
address:
  city: Denver
  zip: 80203
hobbies:
  - reading
  - hiking
  - cooking
Step 2: Press Convert to XML with root name root, 2-space indent, and the XML declaration on.

The validation line reports Valid YAML — converted to XML successfully, and the output is:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<root>
  <name>Maya</name>
  <age>28</age>
  <address>
    <city>Denver</city>
    <zip>80203</zip>
  </address>
  <hobbies>
    <hobby>reading</hobby>
    <hobby>hiking</hobby>
    <hobby>cooking</hobby>
  </hobbies>
</root>

That is exactly the XML the tool produces for this input — the developer copies it straight into the system, where the address element nests the city and zip, and the three hobby elements hold the list in order.

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