Convert between JSON, YAML, CSV and XML in real time, with automatic format detection, formatting and validation, all in your browser.
JSON, YAML, CSV and XML are the most common formats for structured data, each with its own use: JSON dominates APIs and modern configs, YAML is popular in DevOps (Docker, Kubernetes, CI), CSV is the lingua franca of spreadsheets and exports, and XML is still strong in enterprise integrations and feeds. This tool converts between all four: it parses the input (auto-detecting the format if you want) and rewrites it in the target format, already formatted and indented. JSON and YAML preserve types and nested structures; CSV works best with a list of objects (it becomes a table with a header); and XML uses a pragmatic mapping where repeated elements become lists. When something is malformed, you see the exact error message to fix it. Because everything runs client-side, you can convert sensitive data without it ever leaving your browser.
Converting is not text substitution: the tool first parses the input and builds an in-memory data model, objects, lists, numbers, strings and booleans. Only then is that model serialized into the target format. This intermediate step is what lets you go from any format to any other without pairwise rules, and it is also where validation happens: if the input is malformed, the parser fails and you see the exact error.
Auto-detection uses simple hints from the text: starting with < means XML, starting with { or [ means JSON, --- markers or key: value lines suggest YAML, and commas with line breaks suggest CSV. Each format has its own engine: native JSON, a YAML 1.2 parser, an RFC 4180-style CSV reader and the browser's DOMParser for XML.
Example 1, Docker Compose YAML to JSON. Paste a docker-compose.yml and convert to JSON: service lists, port maps and environment variables become equivalent JSON arrays and objects, ready to inspect in a viewer or validate against a schema. The same works for Kubernetes manifests and GitHub Actions workflows.
Example 2, JSON to CSV for a spreadsheet. An array of objects with the same keys becomes a table: each object is a row and the keys form the header. The limit is visible here: nested values (an object inside the object) do not fit a flat cell, so they are serialized as JSON inside the cell. That is why CSV is ideal for tabular data and JSON/YAML for deeply nested data.
JSON and YAML are interchangeable without loss, because they represent exactly the same structures. CSV and XML use pragmatic conventions: CSV flattens nesting and XML maps elements to keys (repeated tags become lists), without capturing XML attributes. Comments also do not survive, JSON does not support them, so a commented YAML converted to JSON loses the comments.
XML conversion relies on the DOMParser and therefore runs in the browser. Above all, nothing leaves your machine: all reading, conversion and formatting happens locally, which makes the tool safe for configs with secrets, internal exports or any confidential data.
Paste the code into your HTML and the tool shows up on your page, without J-Kit's navigation and ads. It still runs in the browser of whoever visits your site.
<iframe
src="https://jkit.tools/embed/en-US/json-yaml-csv-xml-converter"
width="100%"
height="600"
style="border:0"
loading="lazy"
title="Data Converter"
></iframe>These references help contextualize formulas, standards, APIs and limitations used on this page. They do not replace professional validation when a result has legal, financial, medical or operational impact.
JSON and YAML are interchangeable without loss, since they represent the same structures. CSV is ideal for flat lists of objects (it becomes a table) and loses deep nesting. XML has no universal mapping to objects, so we use a pragmatic convention: elements become keys and repeated tags become lists. For deeply nested data, prefer JSON or YAML.
name: jkit
tools: 150
tags:
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active: true
All conversion happens in your browser. No data is sent to any server.