yaml-to-markdown

YAML to Markdown Converter

A Python utility to take a JSON / YAML file or a python dict / list and create a Markdown file.

Installation

pip install yaml-to-markdown

Devbox (Nix flake)

devbox add github:anevis/yaml-to-markdown

Pin a release tag:

devbox add 'github:anevis/yaml-to-markdown/v1.0.1772518140'

Or add the same flake ref to the packages list in devbox.json. After devbox shell, yaml-to-markdown is on your PATH.

Local checkout:

devbox add path:./path/to/yaml-to-markdown

Usage

$ yaml-to-markdown --help
Convert JSON or YAML to Markdown.
Usage: yaml-to-markdown -o <output_file> [-y <yaml_file> | -j <json_file>] [-t <table_sections>]
    -o, --output-file <output_file>: Path to the output file as a string [Mandatory].
    -y, --yaml-file <yaml_file>: Path to the YAML file as a string [Optional]
    -j, --json-file <json_file>: Path to the JSON file as a string [Optional]
    -t, --table-sections <table_sections>: Comma-separated section specs whose dict children render as table rows. Use section->Title to set the key-column header (blank by default) [Optional]
    -h, --help: Show this message and exit.
Note: Either yaml_file or json_file is required along with output_file.
Example: yaml-to-markdown -o output.md -y data.yaml
Example: yaml-to-markdown -o output.md -y data.yaml -t "team members->Member"

In Python Code example:

Convert a Python dictionary to Markdown:

from yaml_to_markdown.md_converter import MDConverter

data = {
    "name": "John Doe",
    "age": 30,
    "city": "Sydney",
    "hobbies": ["reading", "swimming"],
}
converter = MDConverter()
with open("output.md", "w") as f:
    converter.convert(data, f)

Content of output.md file will be:

## Name
John Doe
## Age
30
## City
Sydney
## Hobbies
* reading
* swimming

Select sections and custom processors

Include only specific top-level keys (and control their order):

converter = MDConverter()
converter.set_selected_sections(["city", "name"])

Override rendering for a section key with a custom callback (converter, section, data, level) -> str:

def render_hobbies(converter, section, data, level):
    return f"{'#' * level} Hobbies\n" + "\n".join(f"- {item}" for item in data)

converter = MDConverter()
converter.set_custom_section_processors({"hobbies": render_hobbies})

From the Command Line

You can also use the command line interface to convert a JSON or YAML file to Markdown. Here’s an example:

Convert a JSON file to Markdown:

yaml-to-markdown --output-file output.md --json-file test.json

Convert a YAML file to Markdown:

yaml-to-markdown --output-file output.md --yaml-file test.yaml

YAML Conversion Examples

Simple Key-Value Pairs

Input YAML:

name: John Doe
age: 30
city: Sydney

Output Markdown:

## Name
John Doe
## Age
30
## City
Sydney

Lists

Input YAML:

hobbies:
  - reading
  - swimming
  - cycling

Output Markdown:

## Hobbies
* reading
* swimming
* cycling

Tables (List of Dictionaries)

Input YAML:

employees:
  - name: Alice
    role: Developer
    department: Engineering
  - name: Bob
    role: Designer
    department: Creative

Output Markdown:

## Employees
| Name | Role | Department |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Alice | Developer | Engineering |
| Bob | Designer | Creative |

Nested objects inside a table cell are shown as Key: value pairs, each on a new line (<br/>):

Input YAML:

employees:
  - name: Alice
    contact:
      email: alice@example.com
      phone: "123"

Output Markdown:

## Employees
| Name | Contact |
| --- | --- |
| Alice | Email: alice@example.com<br/>Phone: 123 |

Nested Structures

Input YAML:

company:
  name: Tech Corp
  location: Sydney
  departments:
    engineering: 50
    sales: 30

Output Markdown:

## Company
### Name
Tech Corp
### Location
Sydney
### Departments
#### Engineering
50
#### Sales
30

Table Sections (Dict Children as Rows)

Mark section keys so their nested dict children become table rows. The subsection key is the first column (title-cased, like headings); its header is blank unless you set one with section->Title.

Section keys with spaces must be quoted in YAML and matched exactly when passed to set_table_sections or -t.

Input YAML:

"team members":
  alice:
    role: Developer
    department: Engineering
  bob:
    role: Designer
    department: Creative

Python (blank key-column header):

converter = MDConverter()
converter.set_table_sections(["team members"])

CLI (with key-column header):

yaml-to-markdown -o output.md -y data.yaml -t "team members->Member"

Output Markdown (-t "team members"):

## Team Members
|  | Role | Department |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Alice | Developer | Engineering |
| Bob | Designer | Creative |

Output Markdown (-t "team members->Member"):

## Team Members
| Member | Role | Department |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Alice | Developer | Engineering |
| Bob | Designer | Creative |

Images and Links

Input YAML:

logo: company-logo.png
website: https://example.com
documentation: ./docs/guide.md

Output Markdown:

![Logo](company-logo.png)

[Website](https://example.com)

[Documentation](./docs/guide.md)

Note: Files are only converted to links if they exist and are accessible. Invalid files, missing files, or files with permission errors are treated as normal text.

Developer Guide

Please see the DEVELOPER.md file for more information on how to contribute to this project.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

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