How are XML attributes represented in the YAML output?

The same way this category's XML to JSON conversion handles them: each attribute becomes a key prefixed with @ (so id="1" becomes "@id": "1"), keeping attributes visually distinct from child elements once everything lands in YAML.

What happens to repeated sibling tags?

They're collected into a YAML sequence (a list) under that tag's key, the same array behavior used by the XML to JSON converter, since both share the same underlying XML parsing step.

Why would I want XML as YAML instead of JSON?

YAML is the native format for most CI pipelines, Kubernetes manifests, and infrastructure-as-code tooling. If your target system reads YAML rather than JSON, converting straight there skips an extra manual reformatting step.

Does this handle deeply nested XML documents?

Yes, nesting depth maps directly onto YAML's indentation, so a deeply nested XML document produces correspondingly deeply indented YAML. Very deep structures remain valid but can be harder to scan visually, same as with any format.

What happens if my XML isn't well-formed?

The converter reports the exact line and column where parsing stopped, an unclosed tag, mismatched closing tag, or malformed attribute, before attempting any YAML output.

XML to YAML Converter - Convert XML to YAML Online

Overview

Introduction

Config formats drift over a project's lifetime: something originally written as XML often needs to end up as YAML once it's feeding a CI pipeline, a Kubernetes manifest, or any of the infra tooling that treats YAML as its native language. This converter does that translation in your browser.

It's built for the specific moment when you have XML in hand, an old config, an API response, an export, and the next step in your workflow expects YAML instead.

What Is XML to YAML Converter?

An XML-to-YAML converter parses an XML document into a plain value (the same structure the XML to JSON converter produces internally) and serializes that value as block-style YAML rather than JSON.

Element attributes become @-prefixed keys, text-only elements become scalar values, and repeated sibling tags become YAML sequences, so the mapping stays predictable across nested structures.

How XML to YAML Converter Works

Your XML is parsed with the same shared parser used across this category's other conversion tools, tags are tokenized, matched, and assembled into a tree, with any well-formedness error caught before conversion proceeds.

That tree is converted into a plain JavaScript value using the established attribute (@-prefix) and array (repeated-tag) conventions, then re-serialized as indented, block-style YAML.

When To Use XML to YAML Converter

Use it when migrating an XML config into a YAML-based system, CI config, Kubernetes resource, or any infra tool that expects YAML.

It's also useful for quickly reading an unfamiliar XML document's structure in a format that's often easier to scan than nested angle brackets.

Often used alongside YAML to XML Converter, XML to JSON Converter and XML to JSON Converter.

Features

Advantages

Runs entirely client-side, so XML containing real config or credentials never leaves your browser.
Handles attributes, nested elements, and repeated sibling tags automatically, no manual remapping.
Produces immediately usable, correctly indented YAML.
Shares its underlying parsing and value-mapping logic with the rest of this category's conversion tools, so behavior stays consistent.

Limitations

XML namespaces are folded into the tag name rather than represented as a distinct YAML concept.
Mixed content (text interleaved with child elements at the same level) is a lossy case for any XML-to-structured-data mapping, this one included.
The @-prefix attribute convention is one of several common ones; adjust downstream if your target expects a different scheme.

Examples

An element with an attribute

Input

<user id="1"><name>Ada</name></user>

Output

user:
  "@id": "1"
  name: Ada

The id attribute becomes an @-prefixed key, and the child <name> element becomes a nested key.

Repeated tags become a YAML sequence

Input

<roles><role>admin</role><role>editor</role></roles>

Output

roles:
  role:
    - admin
    - editor

Both <role> siblings share a tag name, so they're collected into a YAML list instead of overwriting each other.

A mismatched closing tag is caught

Invalid input

<a><b></a></b>

Parser error

Expected closing tag </b> but found </a>

Elements must close in the reverse order they opened; this isn't well-formed XML.

Corrected version

<a><b></b></a>

Best Practices & Notes

Best Practices

Check how repeated tags convert for your document, sequences only form when a tag name repeats among direct siblings.
Validate the resulting YAML's indentation against your target system's schema before relying on it.
Run the XML Validator first if you're unsure whether the source document is well-formed.

Developer Notes

This tool calls `xmlToYaml` from the YAML category's `lib/xml-to-yaml.ts`, which parses with the shared `parseXml` (from `yaml/lib/xml-core.ts`) and serializes with `toBlockYaml` (from `yaml/lib/yaml-core.ts`). No new parsing logic lives in the XML category for this tool, it's a direct import of the existing cross-category implementation, matching the codebase's convention of components freely calling lib functions from other categories.

XML to YAML Converter Use Cases

Migrating an XML config file into a YAML-based CI or infra tool
Converting an XML API response into YAML for a Kubernetes manifest or Helm value
Reading an unfamiliar XML document's structure in a more scannable format
Producing YAML test fixtures from existing XML data

Common Mistakes

Expecting XML namespaces to be preserved distinctly; they're folded into the tag name.
Assuming mixed content (text and elements interleaved) converts cleanly; it's inherently lossy in any structured-data mapping.
Forgetting that a single, non-repeated child element becomes a plain key, not a one-item list.

Tips

Use the reported line and column to jump straight to a well-formedness error.
Pair with the YAML to XML Converter to check what a round trip does to your specific document.
Upload a .xml file directly instead of copy-pasting if the document is large.

XML to YAML Converter