What is YAML?
YAML is a human friendly text format for configuration files where indentation shows structure instead of brackets.
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YAML is a data format designed to be easy to read and write by hand. Where JSON uses braces and quotes, YAML uses indentation and dashes, so it looks like a tidy outline or shopping list. It supports the same ideas: key and value pairs, lists, and nesting. Any JSON document is also valid YAML.
You meet YAML in Docker Compose files, Kubernetes manifests, GitHub Actions workflows, Ansible playbooks and many app settings. Its weak point is also its strength: indentation matters, tabs are forbidden, and a stray space breaks the file. Keep an editor with YAML highlighting open and validate with a linter before applying anything to a server.
services:
web:
image: nginx:1.27
ports:
- "8080:80"See also: What is JSON? and What is a container?
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See also
- 0009 CSV to JSON converter A small command-line tool that turns a CSV file into a JSON array of objects, with optional number detection, custom delimiters and… Beginner · Step by step · Any system Script CSV & JSON · Files & automation 15 Oct 2026
- 0072 CSV vs JSON: choosing a format and avoiding the classic pitfalls CSV is a simple table of text; JSON holds nested, typed data. Both break in predictable ways: quoting, delimiters, encodings, numbers and… Beginner · Explains an idea · Any system Article CSV & JSON 15 Oct 2026
- 0073 Fix: json.decoder.JSONDecodeError: Expecting value: line 1 column 1 (char 0) Python's json module found nothing it could parse at the very first character. The input is usually empty, HTML, or already consumed.… Beginner · Fixes an error · Any system Article Common errors · CSV & JSON 15 Oct 2026
- 0075 CSV to JSON converter (Python, standard library) Convert any CSV file with a header row into a JSON array or JSON Lines. Handles quoted fields, a byte order mark,… Beginner · Step by step · Any system Script CSV & JSON · Files & automation 15 Oct 2026
- 0076 jq recipes: 23 one-liners for JSON on the command line A runnable collection of jq filters for everyday JSON work: pick fields, filter with select, reshape, sort, count, group, pass shell variables,… Intermediate · Cheat sheet · Linux, macOS, Windows Script Command-line tools · jq & JSON on the command line 15 Oct 2026
- 0298 What is JSON? JSON is a simple text format for structured data, made of names, values, lists and nested objects, used everywhere on the web. Beginner · Explains an idea · Any system Article CSV & JSON 15 Oct 2026
Repos in the wild
- jq: command-line JSON processor jqlang/jq jq is a small command-line tool for reading, filtering and transforming JSON, like sed and awk for structured data. GitHub
History
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- Dominik +779 chars