How does this tool decide a value is a string?

It uses the type YAML's own parser assigns after resolving the document, so an unquoted `yes` that YAML's core schema treats as a boolean is excluded, while an explicitly quoted `"yes"` is treated as a string and included, matching what the value actually is once parsed, not just how it looks in the source.

Are string values inside lists included?

Yes, this tool descends into every mapping and sequence at any depth, so a string sitting inside a deeply nested list is extracted the same as one at the top level of the document.

Why would I want only the strings and not everything?

Strings are usually the values worth a closer human read, descriptions, labels, URLs, messages, while numbers and booleans are typically just settings. Filtering down to strings makes it much faster to scan a config for typos, hardcoded values, or anything that looks like it should be translated.

Does empty-string count as a value here?

Yes, an explicitly empty string (`""` in the source) is still a string-typed value and appears in the output as a blank line, distinct from `null`, which this tool excludes entirely since it isn't a string.

Does this tool send my YAML anywhere?

No, extraction happens entirely client-side using the same `yaml` parser used across this category. Nothing you paste is uploaded.

Extract YAML Strings - List Every String Value in YAML

Overview

Introduction

When you're reviewing a config for typos, hardcoded values, or text that should be internationalized, the numbers and booleans mixed in just add noise. This tool filters a YAML document down to only its string values, letting you focus on the text that actually needs a human read.

It's the string-only counterpart to Extract Values from YAML, useful whenever type matters to what you're looking for.

What Is YAML String Extractor?

A YAML string extractor walks a parsed document and collects every leaf value whose resolved type is `string`, skipping numbers, booleans, and nulls entirely.

The result is a flat, newline-separated list of just the text content in the document, in the order it appears.

How YAML String Extractor Works

The input is parsed with a full YAML 1.2 parser, which resolves each plain scalar to its actual type according to YAML's core schema (so `true` becomes a boolean, `42` becomes a number, and `hello` or `"42"` stay strings). The resulting value is walked recursively, and only leaves that are JavaScript strings after parsing are added to the output.

Because the filtering happens on the resolved type, not the raw source text, quoting a value is exactly what determines whether an ambiguous-looking scalar (like `"true"` or `"3"`) is included as a string.

When To Use YAML String Extractor

Use it to scan a large config for typos or awkward phrasing in string fields without wading through numeric settings.

It's also useful for pulling out user-facing text (labels, descriptions, messages) from a config as a starting point for translation or copy review.

Often used alongside YAML Value Extractor, YAML Number Extractor and YAML Key Extractor.

Features

Advantages

Filters by resolved type, so quoting decisions in the source YAML are respected exactly.
Cuts through numeric and boolean noise to surface just the text worth a human read.
Handles arbitrarily nested mappings and sequences of any depth.
Runs entirely client-side, so configuration text never leaves your browser.

Limitations

The output has no key or path information; pair with Extract Keys from YAML if you need to know where each string came from.
Multiline string values appear as multiple lines of output despite being one logical entry.
Values that look like text but were parsed as another type (an unquoted `yes`/`no` resolving to boolean) are excluded, matching YAML's own type resolution, not necessarily what a human would expect at a glance.

Examples

Filtering strings out of a mixed-type mapping

Input

name: api
region: us-east
replicas: 3
active: true

Output

api
us-east

Only the two string values are kept; the number and boolean are excluded entirely.

Best Practices & Notes

Best Practices

Use this before a copy review or translation pass to get a clean list of exactly the text that matters.
Cross-check against Extract Yaml Values if you're unsure why a value you expected didn't appear, it may have resolved to a non-string type.
Combine with a text search over the output to spot hardcoded strings that should probably be config variables.

Developer Notes

This is a straightforward type-filtered variant of the site's general value extractor: the same recursive walk, but the collection step only pushes a value onto the output when `typeof value === "string"`. Type resolution itself is entirely delegated to the `yaml` package's parser, this tool does no additional type-guessing of its own.

YAML String Extractor Use Cases

Reviewing every text value in a config for typos or unclear phrasing
Extracting user-facing strings from a config as a starting point for translation
Auditing for hardcoded strings (like URLs or messages) that should be shared variables
Getting a quick text-only summary of a config's content without the numeric noise

Common Mistakes

Expecting quoted numeric strings to be excluded, they're included, since they resolved to the string type, exactly matching what the YAML author quoted them as.
Assuming unquoted `yes`/`no`/`on`/`off` values appear here, YAML's core schema resolves many of those to booleans, so they're filtered out, not treated as strings.
Forgetting that this tool strips all context; cross-reference with Extract Keys from YAML if you need to know where a given string lives.

Tips

If a string you expected is missing, check Extract Yaml Values to see what type it actually resolved to.
Use alongside Extract Numbers from YAML when auditing a config's two most common value types separately.
For quoted values you want to force to stay strings, review Change Quotes to Double/Single Quotes tools to standardize quoting style first.

YAML String Extractor