YAML → JSON / handoff guide

Hand off YAML to JSON without losing types

Before moving a configuration, check strings, booleans, null, and the boundaries that should stop a conversion.

Fix the types first

Similar-looking values can have different types. Quote identifiers and dates when their string meaning must survive the handoff.

id: "001"
enabled: false
label: on
date: "2026-10-01"
note: null

YAML	JSON type to check
`"001"`	string; keeps the leading zero
`false`	boolean
`on`	check the string boundary explicitly
`"2026-10-01"`	string, not an implicit date
`null`	null

Use YAML 1.2/core scalar expectations; do not assume every parser makes the same implicit conversions.
Treat duplicate keys as reject or visible warning, never as safely resolved last-key-wins.
Comments are not values. Explain anchors and aliases, but do not resolve external files or URLs.
Reject circular structures because JSON cannot serialize them. Use 1 MiB and depth 32 as visible limits.

The existing converter also runs locally. It does not upload, resolve external references, or perform schema validation.

fixture	expected	why
`normal-types`	convert	check quoted identifier/date, boolean, and null
`duplicate-key`	reject / visible warning	do not silently choose last-key-wins
`alias-reference`	warn	make reference meaning visible without external resolution
`cycle`	reject	a cycle cannot become JSON
`oversized-deep`	reject	crosses the 1 MiB or depth 32 boundary

When you need to convert the input locally, use the existing YAML to JSON converter. This guide provides the decision points and handoff note.