Why I prefer YAML over JSON

I prefer YAML over JSON and here's why — in no uncertain technical terms:

1. YAML is for humans. JSON is for machines.
   YAML lets me write clean, readable config without drowning in brackets, quotes, and commas. JSON feels like I'm writing for a parser, not a person.

name: Anu  
roles:  
  - Technical Lead  
  - Opportunity Analyst  

vs.

{
  "name": "Anu",
  "roles": ["Technical Lead", "Opportunity Analyst"]
}

YAML wins — hands down.

2. Multi-line strings in YAML don't suck.
   If you've ever tried putting a block of Markdown or SQL into JSON, you know the pain. YAML gives me | and > — simple, elegant. JSON makes me escape like I'm in the Matrix.

3. Comments.
   JSON doesn’t support comments. Why? Because it's a data-interchange format, not a config format. YAML lets me leave notes, explanations, TODOs. This alone makes JSON a non-starter for serious configuration work.

4. Natural hierarchy.
   Indentation in YAML maps directly to how I think about data structures. JSON's brackets within brackets make it harder to parse visually. It's like looking at a syntax tree instead of real content.

5. YAML is made for configuration. JSON isn’t.
   JSON came out of JavaScript and works great for serializing data across systems. YAML was designed from the ground up to be written and read by people. That distinction matters a lot when you're managing real-world config files.

6. Advanced features.
   YAML has anchors, aliases, environment variable support, merge keys — things that actually help you manage growing complexity. JSON gives you… none of that. Once you're over a few hundred lines, JSON becomes a productivity tax.

Bottom line: I write configuration for humans to read, not just machines to parse. YAML gets that. JSON doesn’t.