Developer Guide

JSON vs YAML: when should you use each?

A practical comparison for APIs and configuration

JSON is explicit and portable

JSON uses braces, brackets, quoted keys, and strict value types. It is a strong default for HTTP APIs and data exchange because parsers exist in nearly every language and the syntax has fewer surprising whitespace rules.

{
  "service": "billing",
  "retries": 3,
  "enabled": true
}

YAML is concise and human-oriented

YAML uses indentation and is often easier to scan in hand-written configuration. It supports comments and richer scalar syntax, but that flexibility means teams should choose a parser and schema carefully.

service: billing
retries: 3
enabled: true

Choosing between them

• Choose JSON for public APIs, machine-to-machine payloads, and data that must be unambiguous.
• Choose YAML for configuration files edited frequently by humans, especially when comments are valuable.
• Use a validator and tests for either format before deploying configuration.

Convert and verify

Paste valid JSON into JSONLints Studio, validate it, then choose YAML in the Convert & Types view. Treat conversion as a starting point: inspect quoting, numbers, multiline strings, and empty values before committing the result.