YAML Validator

Validate, fix, and check YAML files against schemas.

Quick Start

Basic Syntax Validation

Validate YAML files for syntax errors:

python scripts/validate_yaml.py file.yml
python scripts/validate_yaml.py file1.yml file2.yml  # Multiple files
python scripts/validate_yaml.py *.yml --quiet         # Only show errors

Auto-Fix Common Errors

Automatically fix common YAML issues:

python scripts/fix_yaml.py file.yml -i              # Fix in-place
python scripts/fix_yaml.py file.yml > fixed.yml     # Output to new file
python scripts/fix_yaml.py *.yml -i --no-backup     # Fix without backups

Common fixes applied:

• Convert tabs to spaces
• Remove trailing whitespace
• Normalize indentation
• Add newline at end of file
• Remove excessive blank lines

Schema Validation

Validate against specific schemas:

# Auto-detect schema type
python scripts/validate_schema.py workflow.yml

# Explicit schema type
python scripts/validate_schema.py -t home-assistant configuration.yaml
python scripts/validate_schema.py -t github-actions .github/workflows/ci.yml
python scripts/validate_schema.py -t docker-compose docker-compose.yml
python scripts/validate_schema.py -t kubernetes deployment.yml
python scripts/validate_schema.py -t gitlab-ci .gitlab-ci.yml

# List available schemas
python scripts/validate_schema.py --list-schemas

Workflow

When YAML validation is requested:

1. Check syntax first: Use validate_yaml.py to identify syntax errors
2. Fix if needed: Use fix_yaml.py to auto-fix common issues
3. Validate schema: Use validate_schema.py for format-specific validation

For YAML errors:

1. Run validation to identify the issue
2. Check references/common-errors.md for guidance on specific error types
3. Apply fixes manually or use fix_yaml.py
4. Re-validate to confirm

For schema validation:

1. Identify the YAML type (GitHub Actions, Docker Compose, etc.)
2. Run validate_schema.py with appropriate type
3. See references/schemas.md for schema-specific requirements

Supported Schemas

• home-assistant: Home Assistant configuration files
• github-actions: GitHub Actions workflow files
• docker-compose: Docker Compose configuration files
• kubernetes: Kubernetes resource manifests
• gitlab-ci: GitLab CI/CD pipeline files

See references/schemas.md for detailed schema documentation.

Common Error Patterns

For detailed error explanations and fixes, see references/common-errors.md:

• Indentation errors (tabs vs spaces)
• Quote mismatches
• Colon spacing issues
• Boolean value confusion
• Multiline string formatting
• Duplicate keys
• Special character handling

Dependencies

Scripts require:

• Python 3.7+
• PyYAML: pip install pyyaml
• jsonschema: pip install jsonschema (for schema validation only)

Exit Codes

All scripts use standard exit codes:

• 0: Success (all files valid)
• 1: Validation failed (syntax or schema errors)
• 2: Missing dependencies or invalid arguments