Converters

YAML to XML Converter

From indentation to angle brackets — YAML parsed with full 1.2 semantics and rendered as well-formed XML.

In short

Convert YAML to XML online: mappings become elements, sequences become repeated tags, with a proper XML declaration. Exact YAML error positions. Free.

By NaveenKumar T · Updated 18 Sep 2026

Learn: JSON vs YAML: Which Format When?

Instant in-browser conversion
Validates input first
Well-formed output with declaration

Runs entirely in your browser — nothing you paste or open here is uploaded, logged, or stored.How we handle data →

Example

YAML to XML: input and output

A greenhouse sensor log: a key containing a space, a sequence of sample mappings, a ~ null, a floating-point number and a boolean.

Input · YAML

device: greenhouse-3
firmware: 1.4
last seen: 2026-06-03T14:20:00Z
samples:
  - at: "14:00"
    temp_c: 24.6
    humidity: 61
  - at: "14:10"
    temp_c: 25.1
    humidity: 58
error: ~
calibrated: true

Output · XML

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<root>
  <device>greenhouse-3</device>
  <firmware>1.4</firmware>
  <last_seen>2026-06-03T14:20:00Z</last_seen>
  <samples>
    <at>14:00</at>
    <temp_c>24.6</temp_c>
    <humidity>61</humidity>
  </samples>
  <samples>
    <at>14:10</at>
    <temp_c>25.1</temp_c>
    <humidity>58</humidity>
  </samples>
  <error nil="true"/>
  <calibrated>true</calibrated>
</root>

The samples sequence became two sibling <samples> elements, the key last seen was rewritten as <last_seen>, and the ~ null became <error nil="true"/>. firmware 1.4 and calibrated true are written as plain text because XML has no numeric or boolean types, and the whole document sits inside a generated <root> element.

Learn more

How YAML to XML conversion works

Your YAML is parsed completely first — anchors resolved, types recognized — then the resulting structure is serialized as XML: each mapping key becomes an element, sequences render as repeated elements of the same name, null values become nil="true" self-closing tags, and all text is entity-escaped.

Tag names are sanitized to be XML-legal (spaces and special characters become underscores), and the document opens with the standard UTF-8 declaration.

When to convert YAML to XML

Bridging modern config to legacy consumers: a deployment described in YAML must feed a system that only ingests XML, or YAML-authored data needs to enter an XML-based toolchain (XSLT, SOAP, enterprise middleware). Writing the XML by hand invites escaping bugs; converting guarantees well-formedness.

Help

Frequently asked questions

Everything you need to know about the YAML to XML.

01Are numbers and booleans written into the XML as typed values or as plain text?

Always as plain text — XML has no numeric or boolean type of its own, so a YAML value of 1.4 or true is written into its element exactly as literal text: <firmware>1.4</firmware>, <calibrated>true</calibrated>. Nothing in the output marks the original type; a consumer that needs to know a field was numeric has to get that from a schema, not from this converter.

02How do YAML lists appear in the XML?

As repeated elements named after their key: items: [a, b] becomes two consecutive <items> elements. That matches standard XML list idiom; if your schema requires an explicit wrapper with <item> children, nest the list under an item key in the YAML first.

03What if the top level of my YAML is a list rather than a mapping?

Each list item becomes its own <root> element, one after another, so a document of - a and - b produces <root>a</root> followed by <root>b</root> after the declaration. Those are valid fragments but not a well-formed document, and strict parsers reject the second root. Put the list under a key first (samples: …) and you get a single <root> containing repeated <samples> elements. Mapping keys with spaces become underscores, keys starting with a digit gain a leading underscore, and null (~) becomes nil="true".

04Does XML to YAML afterward restore the original YAML types?

XML to YAML re-infers every value's type from plain text rather than restoring a stored type, so the round trip is faithful for the common cases — numbers, booleans, null — but cannot bring back YAML-only features that never made it into the XML to begin with, such as block scalars, anchors and comments.

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