Is the search case-sensitive?

No, matching is case-insensitive, so searching for "role" also matches a key named "Role" or "ROLE". This mirrors how this site's other finder tools (like XML Key Finder) behave.

Does it return the full path or just the key name?

Just the bare key name as it's written in the document, not its full dot-path. If the same key name (like `name`) appears at several different places, each occurrence appears once in the results, without indicating which parent it belongs to. Use YAML Key Extractor first if you need full paths.

What happens if I leave the search box empty?

An empty query matches every key in the document, so the result is effectively the same set of key names YAML Key Extractor would list (just without full paths), which is a quick way to see every key name used before narrowing your search.

Does this tool send my YAML anywhere?

No, the search runs entirely client-side against the parsed document using the same `yaml` parser used across this category. Nothing you paste is uploaded.

Find YAML Keys - Search Mapping Key Names Online

Q: How is this different from YAML Key Extractor?

YAML Key Extractor lists the full dot-path of every key in the document. This tool instead searches bare key names for a substring match and returns just the matching names, which is faster when you already know roughly what you're looking for rather than wanting the complete key inventory.

Overview

Introduction

Large YAML configs often reuse the same handful of key names (`name`, `id`, `env`) at many different nesting levels, which makes eyeballing a file to answer "does this document use a `timeout` key anywhere?" slow and error-prone. This tool answers that question directly.

It searches every mapping key name in the parsed document for a substring match and returns just the matching names, so you can confirm presence and rough frequency without reading the whole file.

What Is YAML Key Finder?

A YAML key finder walks a parsed document collecting every mapping key's bare name, then filters that list down to the ones containing your search text, case-insensitively.

It's the search-and-filter counterpart to YAML Key Extractor: where the extractor lists every key's full path unconditionally, this tool narrows the list to only the keys you're actually looking for.

How YAML Key Finder Works

The input is parsed with a full YAML 1.2 parser, then the resulting value is walked recursively, collecting the bare name of every mapping key encountered, regardless of nesting depth.

That list is filtered case-insensitively against your search text; leaving the search box empty returns every key name found in the document.

When To Use YAML Key Finder

Use it to quickly confirm whether a specific field name is used anywhere in a large or unfamiliar config, without scrolling through the whole document.

It's also handy for a rough sense of how many times a particular key name recurs across a document's different sections.

Often used alongside YAML Key Extractor, YAML Key Replacer and YAML Value Finder.

Features

Advantages

Finds matches instantly across documents of any nesting depth, no manual scanning required.
Case-insensitive matching catches inconsistent capitalization in hand-written configs.
Runs entirely client-side, so configuration data never leaves your browser.
Pairs naturally with YAML Key Replacer once you've confirmed a key exists and want to rename it.

Limitations

Results are bare key names only, not full paths, so you can't tell from the output alone which parent each match belongs to.
Matching is a plain substring search, not a regular expression or fuzzy match.
Only mapping keys are searched; a document that's purely scalars or a list of scalars produces no matches.

Examples

Finding a recurring key name

Input

user:
  name: Ada
  role: admin
address:
  role: primary

Output

role
role

The search term "role" matches the key at both nesting levels; each occurrence is listed once.

Best Practices & Notes

Best Practices

Search for a specific field name before assuming it's missing from a large config, it's easy to miss a nested occurrence by eye.
Follow up with YAML Key Extractor if you need the full path of a match, not just its bare name.
Combine with YAML Key Replacer once you've confirmed a key's presence and want to rename every occurrence.

Developer Notes

The walk collects bare key names (not paths) into a flat array, then applies a case-insensitive `includes` filter, matching the same query-filter pattern used by this site's XML Key Finder. It intentionally omits path information to keep the result set focused on "does this name exist," leaving path lookup to YAML Key Extractor.

YAML Key Finder Use Cases

Confirming whether a specific field name is defined anywhere in a large or unfamiliar YAML config
Getting a rough count of how often a key name recurs across a document
Auditing naming consistency (e.g. checking for both `id` and `ID` used inconsistently)
Preparing to rename a key with YAML Key Replacer by first confirming where it appears

Common Mistakes

Expecting full dot-paths in the results; this tool returns bare key names only, use YAML Key Extractor for paths.
Assuming matching is case-sensitive; it isn't, so a broad query can surface more matches than expected.
Forgetting that an empty search box matches every key, not zero keys.

Tips

Leave the search box empty first to see every key name in the document, then narrow from there.
Use a short, distinctive substring (like "time") to catch variants like `timeout` and `timestamp` in one search.
Pair with YAML Key Replacer to go straight from finding a key to renaming it everywhere.

YAML Key Finder