JS-YAML - YAML 1.2 parser / writer for JavaScript

Online Demo
A fast and complete YAML parser and writer for JavaScript.
Supports both the 1.2 and 1.1 specs, and passes the entire
YAML Test Suite.
Installation
npm install js-yaml
Upgrading from v4? See the v5 migration guide.
API
Here we cover the most useful methods. If you need advanced details (such as
creating your own tags), see the examples for more info.
import { load } from 'js-yaml'
import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs'
// Get document, or throw exception on error
try {
const doc = load(readFileSync('example.yml', 'utf8'))
console.log(doc)
} catch (e) {
console.log(e)
}
load (string [ , options ])
Parses string as a single YAML document. Throws YAMLException on error.
This function does not understand multi-document or empty sources; it throws
an exception on those.
[!WARNING]
When processing untrusted input, see the
security considerations.
options:
filename (default: null) - string to be used as a file path in
error/warning messages.
schema (default: CORE_SCHEMA) - specifies a schema to use.
FAILSAFE_SCHEMA - only strings, arrays and plain objects.
JSON_SCHEMA - all JSON-supported types.
CORE_SCHEMA - a superset of JSON_SCHEMA, accepting more notations for
the same types.
YAML11_SCHEMA - adds the legacy YAML 1.1 types (!!binary, !!timestamp,
!!omap, !!pairs, !!set, merge keys <<, and the broader 1.1 scalar
notations).
json (default: false) - compatibility with JSON.parse behaviour. If
true, duplicate keys in a mapping override values rather than throwing an
error.
maxDepth (default: 100) - limits the nesting depth for collections (does
not take aliases into account).
maxTotalMergeKeys (default: 10000) - limits the total number of keys
processed by merge (<<) across one load() / loadAll() call. Set to -1
to disable.
maxAliases (default: -1) - limits the number of alias nodes (*ref) per
document. Set to 0 to reject all aliases, or to -1 for no limit.
[!NOTE]
The default CORE_SCHEMA comes without the !!merge tag. You can easily
enable it if needed:
import { load, CORE_SCHEMA, mergeTag } from 'js-yaml'
load(data, { schema: CORE_SCHEMA.withTags(mergeTag) })
[!WARNING]
The default mapTag is {}-object based and does not allow complex keys
(objects, arrays and so on). That's an intentional choice for convenience.
Also, non-string scalar keys, such as null, numbers or booleans, are
converted to strings.
In the rare cases where you really need complex keys, use realMapTag in the
schema instead. It stores any key exactly as provided, at the cost of less
convenient access.
See examples for advanced customization approaches.
loadAll (string [, options ])
Same as load(), but understands multi-document sources. Returns an array of
documents.
import { loadAll } from 'js-yaml'
console.log(loadAll(data))
dump (object [ , options ])
Serializes object as a YAML document. By default it can dump every supported
YAML type, so it throws an exception if you try to dump regexps or functions.
However, you can disable exceptions by setting the skipInvalid option to
true.
options:
indent (default: 2) - indentation width to use (in spaces).
flowLevel (default: -1) - nesting level at which collections switch from
block to flow style (-1 means never).
seqNoIndent (default: false) - when true, does not add an indentation
level to array elements, ␣␣- 1 => - 1.
seqInlineFirst (default: true) - when true, allows a nested collection
to start on the same line after -, -\n - 1 => - - 1.
skipInvalid (default: false) - do not throw on invalid types (such as a
function in the schema). Invalid mapping pairs and sequence items are skipped;
undefined sequence items are serialized as null.
schema (default: a YAML11_SCHEMA-based schema) - specifies a schema to
use.
sortKeys (default: false) - if true, sort keys when dumping YAML. If a
function, use the function to sort the keys.
lineWidth (default: 80) - sets the max line width. Set -1 for unlimited
width.
noRefs (default: false) - if true, don't convert duplicate objects into
references; inline them instead.
quoteStyle (single or double, default: single) - quoting style to use
when a string needs quotes.
forceQuotes (default: false) - if true, quote all non-key strings,
using quoteStyle.
flowBracketPadding (default: false) - add spaces inside flow collection
brackets, {a: 1} => { a: 1 }.
flowSkipCommaSpace (default: false) - omit the space after commas in
flow collections, [1, 2] => [1,2].
flowSkipColonSpace (default: false) - omit the space after : in flow
mappings, {a: 1} => {a:1}.
quoteFlowKeys (default: false) - quote flow mapping keys, {a: 1} =>
{"a": 1}.
tagBeforeAnchor (default: false) - print an explicit tag before an
anchor, &ref_0 !!set => !!set &ref_0.
transform - a function (documents: Document[]) => void that can mutate the
generated AST before it is rendered.
See examples for advanced customization approaches.
Supported YAML types
The list of standard YAML tags and corresponding JavaScript types. See also
YAML tag discussion and
YAML types repository.
!!null '' # null
!!bool 'true' # bool
!!int '3...' # number
!!float '3.14...' # number
!!str '...' # string
!!seq [ ... ] # array
!!map { ... } # object (or Map)
The types below are only available in YAML11_SCHEMA (not in the default
CORE_SCHEMA):
!!binary '...base64...' # Uint8Array
!!timestamp 'YYYY-...' # date
!!set { ... } # Set
# Legacy YAML 1.1 compatibility only; these types cannot be dumped.
!!omap [ ... ] # array of key-value pairs
!!pairs [ ... ] # array of array pairs
To preserve complex keys in the first position of a !!pairs item, replace
the default object-based map with realMapTag in the schema.
JavaScript-specific tags
See js-yaml-js-types for
extra types.
CLI
This can be useful sometimes for a quick check.
npx js-yaml -h
Note: the CLI script comes with minimal options, and there are no big plans to
extend it.