JSON vs YAML

JSON is stricter and better on the wire. YAML is easier for humans to edit and easier to break. Choose based on who edits the file and whether comments matter.

Use JSON for APIs, logs, and anything a machine emits. Use YAML for config humans edit, then still validate it. ConvertPass converts both locally so you can keep a JSON source of truth.

Comments

JSON. Not in the standard. People invent JSONC.

YAML. First-class comments.

Typing surprises

JSON. Types are explicit. Numbers are still floats in many parsers.

YAML. YAML 1.1 implicit booleans have caused production incidents. Quote strings that look like booleans or country codes.

Tooling

JSON. Every language, every browser.

YAML. Common in DevOps. Unsafe loaders still exist; do not use them on untrusted input.

Whitespace

JSON. Insignificant outside strings.

YAML. Indentation is structure.

Topic	JSON	YAML
Comments	Not in the standard. People invent JSONC.	First-class comments.
Typing surprises	Types are explicit. Numbers are still floats in many parsers.	YAML 1.1 implicit booleans have caused production incidents. Quote strings that look like booleans or country codes.
Tooling	Every language, every browser.	Common in DevOps. Unsafe loaders still exist; do not use them on untrusted input.
Whitespace	Insignificant outside strings.	Indentation is structure.

Related tools

JSON to YAML
Turn JSON into readable YAML without leaving your machine.
YAML to JSON
Parse YAML into JSON without custom tags or server-side processing.
JSON formatter
Pretty-print JSON locally, or diff two documents by JSON pointer.

Related formats

Last reviewed 16 August 2026.