YAML formatter, validator and comment remover

Runs locally

Format, tidy, strip comments and validate — with the line and column of any error.

Indent

Wrap

Quotes

Sort keysIndent listsExpand anchorsThese apply to Format and One line.

YAML

Valid · 1 document · 32 keys · depth 8 · 5 comments · 1 anchor · 2 aliases

# deployment for the shop API
# owner: platform team
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: shop-api          # keep in sync with the Service
  labels: &labels
    app: shop
    tier: backend
spec:
  replicas: 3   # bumped for the sale
  selector:
    matchLabels: *labels
  template:
    metadata:
      labels: *labels
    spec:
      containers:
        - name: api
          image: "ghcr.io/acme/shop:1.4"
          ports:
            - containerPort: 8080
          env:
            - name: NODE_ENV
              value: production
          # readiness gates the rolling update
          readinessProbe:
            httpGet: { path: /healthz, port: 8080 }
          command: |
            # this hash is part of the script, not a comment
            exec node server.js --port 8080

Result

Pick an action above — the result appears here…

About the YAML formatter

How it works in 4 steps · 4 common use cases · 4 questions answered

How it works

1.Paste a YAML file — a single document or several separated by ---.
2.Validation runs as you type: the line and column of any syntax error, or a summary of the document.
3.Format reparses and re-emits with your indent, wrap, quoting and sorting options. Tidy fixes whitespace and tabs without touching comments.
4.Remove comments strips every # comment and leaves the rest of the file byte for byte as it was. Copy the result, or send it back to the editor to run another action.

Common use cases

•Cleaning a hand-edited Kubernetes or Compose file before committing it
•Stripping the commentary out of a config before pasting it into a ticket
•Finding the line a "bad indentation" error is really talking about
•Fixing an editor that inserted tabs into a YAML file

FAQ

Why does Format lose my comments?

Because Format parses the document and writes it out again, and the YAML parser does not keep comments. Tidy is the comment-preserving option: it only touches whitespace, tabs and blank lines.

Will Remove comments break a string containing a #?

No. A # only starts a comment at the start of a line or after a space, and never inside quotes or a block scalar, so a URL fragment, a "50% # done" string and a shell script in a | block all survive intact.

Does it handle multi-document files?

Yes. Documents separated by --- are validated and re-emitted individually, which is what Kubernetes manifests usually look like.

What happens to anchors and aliases?

They are kept by default. Tick "Expand anchors" to resolve them and write the values out in full, which is useful when you want to see what a merge key actually produced.