YAMLdriven

YAMLdriven is a software design and operational approach in which YAML files serve as the primary source of configuration and, in some cases, drive application behavior. The term emphasizes declarative configuration—describing what should be done rather than how to do it—and aims to separate configuration data from application logic. YAMLdriven practices are common in environments that require portable, human-readable settings.

Applications of YAMLdriven include infrastructure orchestration, deployment pipelines, data processing workflows, and feature flag management. In these contexts, a central set of YAML files specifies resources, dependencies, and execution steps. A runtime or tooling layer interprets the YAML to perform actions such as provisioning infrastructure, running tasks, or enabling features.

Implementation patterns often rely on a formal YAML schema or vocabulary, with validation at load time to catch errors. Developers may use anchors and aliases to reuse fragments, layering for environment-specific overrides, and basic templating for parameterization. Tooling may provide editors, linters, and visualizers to improve reliability.

Advantages of YAMLdriven include readability, portability across environments, and reduced boilerplate code. Limitations include YAML syntax errors, potential complexity in large configurations, and fragmentation when different tools adopt different schemas. Best practices emphasize stable schemas, modular configuration files, thorough validation, and documentation of each field's meaning.

See also YAML, configuration as code, declarative configuration, infrastructure as code.