YAML Gotchas: The Norway Problem and Other Silent Type Bugs

YAML guesses types. Usually it guesses right; when it doesn't, your config lies to you silently. Converting to JSON is the fastest way to see what YAML actually parsed.

The classic traps

Country code no → false (the Norway problem). Version 1.10 → number 1.1. Time 08:30 → sexagesimal in YAML 1.1 parsers. Git SHAs that are all digits overflow as numbers. Any bare scalar is a guess.

See what the parser sees

Paste your YAML here and read the JSON: every value shows its real type — strings quoted, numbers bare, booleans true/false. If NO became false, you'll see it in one glance.

The fix

Quote anything that must stay a string: 'no', '1.10', '08:30'. In YAML 1.2 (which this converter uses) many 1.1 traps are gone, but your production parser may still be 1.1 — when in doubt, quote.

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