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yaml-config-helper skill

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This skill validates, formats, and troubleshoots YAML configurations, offering schema validation, corrected versions, and explanations of errors to improve

npx playbooks add skill jackspace/claudeskillz --skill yaml-config-helper

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SKILL.md

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---
name: yaml-config-helper
description: Validate, format, and troubleshoot YAML configuration files
---

# Yaml-config-helper

## Instructions

When working with YAML files:
1. Check syntax (indentation, colons, quotes)
2. Validate against schemas when possible:
   - Docker Compose
   - Kubernetes
   - GitHub Actions
   - Ansible
- Tabs instead of spaces (YAML requires spaces)
- Incorrect indentation levels
- Missing colons after keys
- Unquoted strings with special characters
- Inconsistent list formatting
- Use 2-space indentation (standard)
- Quote strings with special characters
- Use explicit typing when needed (!!str, !!int)
- Add comments for complex configurations
- Use anchors and aliases for repeated content
- Suggest yamllint for validation
- Provide corrected versions
- Explain validation errors


## Examples

Add examples of how to use this skill here.

## Notes

- This skill was auto-generated
- Edit this file to customize behavior

Overview

This skill validates, formats, and troubleshoots YAML configuration files to reduce runtime errors and deployment failures. It detects common syntax mistakes, checks against popular schemas, and provides corrected YAML snippets plus explanations. The goal is fast, actionable fixes so engineers can commit safe configs with confidence.

How this skill works

The skill parses YAML to detect syntax issues like incorrect indentation, missing colons, tabs vs spaces, and unquoted special strings. It can validate documents against known schemas (Docker Compose, Kubernetes, GitHub Actions, Ansible) and surface schema violations with line-level guidance. For each problem it offers a corrected example, suggests linters (eg. yamllint), and explains the root cause in plain language.

When to use it

Before committing or deploying YAML-based configs (Compose, k8s, Actions, Ansible)
When a CI/CD pipeline fails with a YAML parsing or schema error
When converting JSON or templates into YAML and unsure about formatting
To standardize indentation, quoting, and list formatting across projects
When debugging runtime issues caused by mis-typed values or wrong anchors

Best practices

Use consistent 2-space indentation and avoid tabs throughout files
Quote strings that include colons, leading zeros, special characters, or YAML keywords
Validate against the appropriate schema for the tool before applying (k8s, Compose, Actions, Ansible)
Use anchors and aliases for repeated blocks to reduce duplication and mistakes
Run yamllint or an equivalent linter in pre-commit to catch issues early

Example use cases

Fixing a Kubernetes manifest that fails kubectl apply due to improper indentation and unquoted port strings
Validating and correcting a Docker Compose file that causes compose to error on service definitions
Converting a JSON configuration into clean YAML with explicit typing and quoted strings where required
Troubleshooting a GitHub Actions workflow that fails parsing because of inconsistent list formatting
Cleaning up an Ansible playbook with mixed tabs/spaces and missing colons

FAQ

Can the skill validate against custom schemas?

Yes — you can supply a JSON Schema or OpenAPI fragment and the skill will validate YAML documents against it and report violations.

Does it change my file automatically?

It provides corrected snippets and clear instructions; you can apply edits manually or use the suggested fixes programmatically.