Tablizer

Convert YAML to MATLAB Online

Paste a YAML table below, edit it if you need to, and get MATLAB back. The conversion runs in your browser, so nothing is uploaded, there is no size limit and there is no signup.

From

The only part of this site that uses a server. The address is sent to it so the page can be fetched, because a browser is not allowed to fetch someone else's page itself. Your own files are never involved.

Nothing here is uploaded. The parsing happens on this page.
Edit
Paste or upload something above and it will appear here.
ToDataMarkupDocumentsCodeSchemasImages

The output will appear here once there is a table to convert.

What YAML is

YAML uses indentation instead of brackets. It is a superset of JSON, supports comments, and is meant to be edited by hand.

Kubernetes manifests, CI pipelines, Ansible playbooks and most modern config files.

What MATLAB is

MATLAB cell arrays combined into a table with the table() function.

Engineering and research code.

What changes when you convert YAML to MATLAB

A YAML list of maps reads as rows and columns directly. Anchors and aliases are resolved before the table is built, so a repeated block arrives expanded rather than as a reference.

One cell array per column, then a single table() call. Column names are sanitised to valid variable names.

What carries over from YAML to MATLAB

YAML records 3 things about a table that MATLAB has no way to hold.

An empty cell and a missing one are the same thing in MATLAB, so a null and an empty string in the YAML both come out blank and can no longer be told apart.

YAML can hold a value that is itself a list or an object. MATLAB has only flat cells, so nested values are flattened into one cell rather than being spread across columns.

A line break inside a cell ends the row in MATLAB, so line breaks are replaced rather than carried through.

MATLAB marks header cells differently from data cells, so the keys are lifted out and written once as a marked header row rather than repeated on every row.

Both formats record types, so numbers, booleans and nulls survive as themselves rather than as text.

The identifier 007 comes out of the MATLAB as 007. Reading it as a number would have made it 7, and an id that changes value is worse than one that stays text.

The role "Analyst, data" survives with its comma, in one cell rather than split across two. That is the first thing to check in any converted table, and the usual place a MATLAB file goes wrong.

The quotes around Jonah "Jo" Pryce are left as a plain quote character in the MATLAB.

A worked example

Three rows of staff data, with an identifier that has a leading zero, a value containing a comma, a value containing quotes and one blank cell. Those are the four places formats disagree, so they are the four places to look.

YAML in
- id: "007"
  name: Halima Yusuf
  role: Analyst, data
  started: "2024-03-15"
  hours: "38.5"
- id: "012"
  name: Jonah "Jo" Pryce
  role: Engineer
  started: "2025-11-02"
  hours: ""
- id: "104"
  name: Wei Chen
  role: Manager
  started: "2023-06-30"
  hours: "40"
MATLAB out
id = {'007'; '012'; '104'}';
name = {'Halima Yusuf'; 'Jonah "Jo" Pryce'; 'Wei Chen'}';
role = {'Analyst, data'; 'Engineer'; 'Manager'}';
started = {'2024-03-15'; '2025-11-02'; '2023-06-30'}';
hours = {'38.5'; ''; '40'}';
staff = table(id, name, role, started, hours);

Questions

How do I convert YAML to MATLAB?

Paste your YAML into the box above or drop the file onto it. Check the table in the grid, then copy or download the MATLAB from the output panel. It takes one step and the data never leaves your browser.

Why did my YAML value change meaning?

YAML reads several bare words as booleans. In the 1.1 spec that includes yes, no, on and off, which is why a country column containing NO for Norway can arrive as false. Quote values you want kept as text.

What happens to nested values?

MATLAB has no nested cell, so a list or object inside a YAML value is flattened into a single cell rather than expanded into extra columns. Split it before converting if the parts need to be separate.

One of my cells has a line break in it - what happens?

A line break would end the row in MATLAB, so it is replaced instead of carried through. The rest of the cell stays where it belongs.

Is there a limit on file size?

No. The work happens on your own machine, so the limit is your machine's memory rather than an upload cap. A file with tens of thousands of rows converts in a second or two.

Is my data uploaded anywhere?

No. The parsing and generating are done by JavaScript running on this page. You can watch the network tab while you convert and see that nothing is sent.

Related conversions