YAML to XML Converter Online — Convert YAML to XML

Convert YAML mappings into XML elements and lists into repeated child elements with a single XML root. Output is well-formed, escaped, and ready for SOAP, enterprise integrations, and XML-based datastores — 100% in your browser.

YAML Input

XML Output

What is a YAML to XML Converter?

A YAML to XML converter reads a YAML document and emits well-formed XML. YAML mappings become parent-child element trees, sequences become repeated child elements, and scalar values become element text content. Conversion is essential whenever a YAML config or data file must feed an enterprise system, a SOAP service, or an XML-based pipeline that does not understand YAML directly.

XML is stricter than YAML — every element needs a closing tag, special characters must be escaped, names cannot start with a digit, and the document must have exactly one root. The OpenFormatter YAML to XML converter handles all of this automatically: keys are sanitised, text content is escaped, lists are emitted as repeated <item> children, and the document is wrapped in a single <root> with a UTF-8 declaration.

How to convert YAML to XML online — 4 steps

Paste your YAML. Copy any .yaml source — a config file, a data fixture, an export from a CMS — into the YAML Input panel. Click Load Sample to try a book record with a list of tags.
Click Convert. The converter parses the YAML in your browser, builds an element tree, and emits well-formed XML.
Review the XML. Inspect the element nesting, confirm lists rendered as repeated <item> children, and verify that ampersands and angle brackets in your data are escaped.
Copy the XML. Click Copy to use the result in a SOAP envelope, an XML database, an enterprise queue, an Ant or Maven build file, or an XSLT pipeline.

Sample YAML and XML output

Here is exactly how mappings, lists, and scalars are translated:

YAML input

book:
  title: The Pragmatic Programmer
  author: Andy Hunt
  year: 1999
  tags:
    - software
    - craft
    - design
  available: true

XML output

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<root>
  <book>
    <title>The Pragmatic Programmer</title>
    <author>Andy Hunt</author>
    <year>1999</year>
    <tags>
      <item>software</item>
      <item>craft</item>
      <item>design</item>
    </tags>
    <available>true</available>
  </book>
</root>

The YAML mapping book becomes a <book> element. The tags list becomes a <tags> wrapper containing repeated <item> elements — the standard XML idiom for collections, since XML has no native array primitive.

Mapping → Element

Every YAML key becomes a nested XML element with the same name; values become text content. Hierarchical structure is preserved exactly.

List → Repeated Elements

YAML sequences are emitted as repeated <item> children inside the parent key — the standard XML pattern for collections.

Safe & Well-Formed

Special characters are escaped, invalid key characters are replaced, and the output is wrapped in a single root with a UTF-8 XML declaration.

Common use cases

check_circleGenerating XML configuration files from YAML for legacy Java, .NET, or PHP applications
check_circleBuilding SOAP request bodies from YAML data fixtures for service integration tests
check_circleProducing XML payloads for healthcare HL7 or finance SWIFT-style enterprise pipelines
check_circleConverting YAML CMS exports to XML feeds for syndication or RSS-style endpoints
check_circleCreating XML Maven, Ant, or NuGet config files from YAML templates in build pipelines
check_circleTranslating YAML API specs into XML for legacy ESB or enterprise integration buses
check_circleGenerating Android resource (strings.xml) files from YAML translation source files
check_circleFeeding XML-only datastores (eXist-db, MarkLogic) with YAML-defined seed data

YAML vs XML — when to use this conversion

YAML wins for human-edited configuration: it is concise, supports comments, and avoids visual noise. XML wins for machine-to-machine integration with namespaces, schemas (XSD), and existing tooling — XSLT, XPath, SAX/DOM parsers, and decades of enterprise libraries. Convert YAML to XML when the consumer is a system that already speaks XML natively (SOAP, BizTalk, MuleSoft, MarkLogic, an Android res/values bundle), and authoring in YAML is friendlier for the humans on your team. The output here is namespace-free — add xmlns declarations on the root after conversion if your schema requires them.

Need a different conversion?

Convert YAML to JSON or CSV, go the other way (XML to YAML), or format the XML output — all browser-side.

YAML to JSON XML to YAML XML Formatter

Frequently Asked Questions

What root element does the converter use?

XML requires exactly one root element. The converter wraps the output in <root>…</root> by default. If your YAML has a single top-level key, you can rename the wrapper after conversion to use that key as the semantic root (for example, change <root><book>…</book></root> to <book>…</book> if you prefer).

How are YAML lists mapped to XML?

XML has no array primitive, so each YAML list item becomes a repeated <item> child element under the parent key. For YAML "tags: [a, b, c]" you get <tags><item>a</item><item>b</item><item>c</item></tags>. This matches the standard XML idiom for collections; downstream parsers can read repeated children as a list.

Are XML attributes generated, or only elements?

YAML mappings convert to nested elements, not attributes, because YAML has no way to mark a key as attribute-only. If your target schema requires attributes (for example, <book id="42">), you can post-process the XML or use a YAML-to-XML tool with @-prefixed key conventions for attributes.

How are special characters and key names sanitized?

XML element names cannot contain spaces, slashes, or start with a digit. The converter replaces non-alphanumeric characters in YAML keys with underscores and prefixes leading digits with an underscore so the output is always well-formed XML. Element text content is escaped: <, >, &, ", and \' become <, >, &, ", and '.

Can I use the output for SOAP envelopes?

The converter produces a plain XML body. For SOAP you must wrap the result in a Soap-Envelope and Soap-Body with the correct xmlns:soap declaration, and add any namespace prefixes your service expects. The converter is the right starting point — wire-format wrapping is a downstream step.

How are YAML booleans, nulls, and numbers represented in XML?

XML has no native scalar types — every value becomes text inside an element. Booleans render as the literal text "true" or "false", null becomes the text "null" (or you can post-process to xsi:nil="true"), and numbers render as their string form. Schemas that need strict types should validate the output with XSD afterwards.

Does the converter handle namespaces (xmlns)?

The output is namespace-free. To add a namespace, edit the root element after conversion and add xmlns:prefix="…" attributes plus prefix all child element names accordingly. Namespace-aware conversion is not automatic because YAML has no equivalent concept.

Is my YAML uploaded to your servers?

No. Conversion runs entirely in your browser. Even YAML containing internal API endpoints, database credentials, or business logic stays on your machine. Open DevTools → Network and verify: no request fires when you click Convert.