Comments in YAML (YAML Ain't Markup Language) are essential for adding explanations, notes, or temporarily disabling code within your YAML files. They enhance readability and maintainability of your configurations.
YAML supports single-line comments using the hash symbol (#). Anything following the # on the same line is treated as a comment and ignored by YAML parsers.
# This is a single-line comment
key: value # This is an inline comment
While YAML doesn't have a built-in multi-line comment syntax, you can achieve a similar effect using the YAML Block Scalars feature with a comment indicator.
comment: |
# This is a multi-line comment
# It can span multiple lines
# And is useful for longer explanations
Comments can be used with various YAML structures, including YAML Lists and YAML Dictionaries.
# List with comments
fruits:
- apple # Red or green
- banana # Yellow
- cherry # Red
# Dictionary with comments
person:
name: John Doe # Full name
age: 30 # In years
city: New York # Current residence
Comments are also useful for temporarily disabling parts of your YAML configuration without deleting them.
database:
host: localhost
port: 5432
# username: admin # Commented out for local development
# password: secret # Commented out for security reasons
When working with YAML comments, keep these points in mind:
Understanding YAML comments is crucial for creating well-documented and maintainable YAML files. They play a vital role in YAML for App Config and various other YAML use cases.