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YAML to XML Converter

Convert YAML to XML online, entirely in your browser. This YAML to XML converter turns mappings and lists from any .yaml or .yml file into well-formed XML markup. Because XML has no single canonical mapping for keys and arrays, the tool applies clear, documented conventions and calls out anything ambiguous.

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Supports .yaml and .yml files, processed entirely on your device

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YAML →JSON
Your converted output will appear here.
Waiting for YAML input.

What to expect

  • Mappings become nested elements; list items repeat the parent tag name.
  • Keys that aren't valid XML tag names are automatically sanitized.
  • A short conversion-notes panel documents any assumptions made.

Example

Input (YAML)
site:
  name: Aperture Docs
  version: 1.4.2
  active: true
tags:
  - web
  - cli
  - tools
author:
  name: Jane Doe
  email: jane@example.com
Output (xml)
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<root>
  <site>
    <name>Aperture Docs</name>
    <version>1.4.2</version>
    <active>true</active>
  </site>
  <tags>web</tags>
  <tags>cli</tags>
  <tags>tools</tags>
  <author>
    <name>Jane Doe</name>
    <email>jane@example.com</email>
  </author>
</root>

Why teams still convert YAML to XML

XML never went away. SOAP services, Android resources, Maven and Ant builds, RSS and Atom feeds, SVG, and plenty of enterprise integration platforms all speak XML. When your source of truth is a readable YAML file but the consuming system insists on markup, a conversion step bridges the gap without anyone rewriting tags by hand.

The catch is that YAML and XML don't line up perfectly. YAML has lists and scalars; XML has elements, attributes and text nodes. This converter makes the simplest consistent choice, with every key becoming an element, and then reports any key it had to rename so nothing changes silently.

  • Feeding legacy systems

    Hand a SOAP service or enterprise message bus the XML document it requires.

  • Build and tooling configs

    Draft Maven, Ant or Android-style configuration in YAML, then export the markup.

  • Content feeds

    Prepare structured data for RSS-like pipelines or XSLT transformations.

  • Test fixtures

    Generate sample XML payloads for integration tests from a compact YAML source.

How YAML maps to XML

These are the exact rules this converter applies. Each result below was generated by the tool itself, so it matches what you will see in the output panel.

Mappings become nested elements

Every key becomes an element, and children are indented beneath their parent.

YAML
server:
  host: localhost
  port: 8080
XML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<root>
  <server>
    <host>localhost</host>
    <port>8080</port>
  </server>
</root>

Lists repeat the tag

Each list item is written as a sibling element that reuses the list's key as its tag name.

YAML
tags:
  - web
  - cli
XML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<root>
  <tags>web</tags>
  <tags>cli</tags>
</root>

Null and empty values self-close

Null and empty lists produce a self-closing tag instead of dropping the key.

YAML
nickname: null
items: []
XML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<root>
  <nickname />
  <items />
</root>

Special characters are escaped

Ampersands, angle brackets and quotes are converted to XML entities so the document stays well-formed.

YAML
query: "a < b && c"
XML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<root>
  <query>a &lt; b &amp;&amp; c</query>
</root>

A trickier example: invalid tag names and empty values

XML element names can't contain spaces or start with a digit, but YAML keys can. Here two such keys sit next to an empty list and a null value.

Input (YAML)
"release notes":
  summary: Fixes & improvements <beta>
  breaking: ~
  files: []
2fa-enabled: true
Output (XML)
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<root>
  <release_notes>
    <summary>Fixes &amp; improvements &lt;beta&gt;</summary>
    <breaking />
    <files />
  </release_notes>
  <_2fa-enabled>true</_2fa-enabled>
</root>

The offending keys are rewritten into valid tag names, the special characters in the summary are escaped, and the conversion notes list each rename so you can decide whether to adjust the source YAML instead.

Conversion notes for this example
  • Key "release notes" isn't a valid XML tag name, so it was written as "release_notes".
  • Key "2fa-enabled" isn't a valid XML tag name, so it was written as "_2fa-enabled".

Reading the XML in your code

Because list items become repeated elements, findall() returns all of them. A Python example using only the standard library:

python
import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET

root = ET.parse("config.xml").getroot()

name = root.find("site/name").text
tags = [t.text for t in root.findall("tags")]

print(name, tags)

YAML vs XML at a glance

Both formats are hierarchical, but they model data differently.

FeatureYAMLXML
ListsFirst-class sequencesRepeated sibling elements
AttributesNo such conceptSupported on elements
Comments# comment<!-- comment -->
Schema validationThird-party toolingXSD and DTD built in
VerbosityCompactOpening and closing tags for every value

Things to watch for when converting to XML

  • XML has no attributes in this output; everything is written as child elements.
  • A list with one item and a plain value look identical in XML, so a round trip back to YAML can't always recover the list.
  • A top-level list is wrapped in a <root> element with repeated <item> children, because an XML document needs a single root.
  • Keys that were renamed to be valid tags are listed in the conversion notes; check them if another system expects specific names.

YAML to XML Converter FAQ

How are YAML lists represented in XML?

Each item in a list is written as a repeated element using the list's key as the tag name, nested under its parent element.

What happens to invalid XML tag names?

Keys containing spaces or symbols are converted to a safe tag name, and a note explains exactly what changed.

Can I convert YAML to XML in Python or Java?

Yes. In Python, load the YAML with PyYAML and write it out with `xml.etree.ElementTree`. In Java, SnakeYAML paired with the built-in `javax.xml` APIs (or Jackson's XmlMapper) does the same job. This tool is a quicker option when you don't want to write or run code for a one-off conversion.

Can I convert XML back to YAML?

This tool focuses on YAML to XML. A reverse converter is on our roadmap of related developer tools.

Why is everything wrapped in a <root> element?

A well-formed XML document must have exactly one root element, and YAML has no equivalent. The converter uses <root> as that wrapper, and rename it afterwards if your schema expects something else.

Does the converter create XML attributes?

No. Every YAML key becomes a child element. Attributes are a purely XML concept, so nothing in a standard YAML file tells the converter which values should be attributes.

Is the XML declaration included?

Yes. The output begins with an XML declaration specifying version 1.0 and UTF-8 encoding, which most parsers expect.

Is there a difference between .yml and .yaml?

No. ".yml" and ".yaml" are just two file extensions for the exact same format — this converter accepts either one, so a "yml to XML" conversion and a "yaml to XML" conversion produce identical results.

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Getting an error? Check your input with theYAML Validator, or tidy it first with theYAML Formatter. You can also browse all YAML converters.