About YAML Pretty Print
Our YAML Pretty Print tool is a professional formatter that transforms messy, unformatted YAML data into clean, readable, and properly indented YAML documents. This tool is essential for developers, DevOps engineers, and system administrators who work with YAML configuration files, API responses, and data structures that need consistent formatting and readability.
Why Use YAML Pretty Print?
- Improved Readability: Clean, consistent indentation and spacing
- Code Standards: Enforce consistent YAML formatting across projects
- Error Prevention: Proper formatting reduces syntax errors
- Team Collaboration: Standardized format for version control
- Professional Output: Production-ready YAML formatting
- Customizable Options: Flexible formatting rules to match your style
- Performance Optimization: Optimized YAML structure for faster parsing
- Documentation Ready: Clean format for documentation and examples
Formatting Features
Smart Indentation
Customizable indentation with 2, 4, 6, or 8 spaces for perfect alignment
Key Sorting
Optional alphabetical sorting of YAML keys for consistency
String Handling
Intelligent string quoting and line width management
Common Use Cases
Format Docker Compose files, Kubernetes manifests, CI/CD pipeline configurations, and application settings files. Consistent formatting makes these files easier to read, debug, and maintain across development teams.
Standardize YAML formatting before committing to Git repositories. Consistent formatting reduces diff noise, makes code reviews more efficient, and helps identify meaningful changes versus formatting differences.
Clean up YAML responses from APIs for documentation, testing, or further processing. Well-formatted YAML is easier to understand and debug when working with API integrations or creating test fixtures.
How to Use YAML Pretty Print
- Paste YAML: Copy your unformatted YAML data into the left editor panel
- Configure Options: Adjust indentation, line width, and other formatting preferences
- Format: Click "Format" button to apply pretty printing to your YAML
- Review Output: Check the formatted result in the right panel
- Copy or Download: Use the action buttons to save or use the formatted YAML
Formatting Best Practices
Pro Tips for YAML Formatting
- Consistent Indentation: Use 2 spaces for most projects, 4 spaces for complex nested structures
- Line Width: Keep lines under 80 characters for better readability in editors and diffs
- Key Sorting: Enable for configuration files to maintain consistent ordering
- Comment Preservation: Always preserve comments as they provide valuable context
- String Quoting: Only quote strings when necessary to avoid clutter
- Empty Lines: Remove excessive empty lines but keep logical grouping
Before and After Examples
Before (Unformatted):
app: {name: "My App",version: "1.0",features: [auth, logging,cache],config: {debug: true,timeout: 30}}
After (Pretty Printed):
app:name: "My App"
version: "1.0"
features:- auth
- logging
- cache
config:debug: true
timeout: 30
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