Convert YAML to RDF Online

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

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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 RDF is

RDF in Turtle syntax: subject, predicate, object triples describing each row.

Linked data and semantic web projects.

What changes when you convert YAML to RDF

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.

Each row becomes a subject with one predicate per column, under an example.org namespace you will want to change.

What carries over from YAML to RDF

YAML records 2 things about a table that RDF has no way to hold.

YAML distinguishes a number from the text of a number; RDF does not, so every value arrives as text and has to be re-parsed by whatever reads it next.

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

The result can be read a record at a time, and appended to by adding to the end of it. That is worth having for a table too large to hold in memory, and it means a RDF file that is cut off part way through still gives you every record before the cut.

The identifier 007 comes out of the RDF 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 RDF file goes wrong.

The quotes around Jonah "Jo" Pryce are escaped with a backslash in the RDF.

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"
RDF out
@prefix ex: <http://example.org/> .

ex:row1
    ex:id "007" ;
    ex:name "Halima Yusuf" ;
    ex:role "Analyst, data" ;
    ex:started "2024-03-15" ;
    ex:hours "38.5" .

ex:row2
    ex:id "012" ;
    ex:name "Jonah \"Jo\" Pryce" ;
    ex:role "Engineer" ;
    ex:started "2025-11-02" ;
    ex:hours "" .

ex:row3
    ex:id "104" ;
    ex:name "Wei Chen" ;
    ex:role "Manager" ;
    ex:started "2023-06-30" ;
    ex:hours "40" .

Questions

How do I convert YAML to RDF?

Paste your YAML into the box above or drop the file onto it. Check the table in the grid, then copy or download the RDF 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.

Will my numbers still be numbers?

They will read the same, but RDF stores them as text. Anything that sorts or sums the result will need to parse them first, and a leading zero or a currency symbol is the usual place that goes wrong.

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.

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