Pull frontmatter out of a Markdown file and convert between YAML, JSON, and TOML.
Free Markdown Frontmatter Extractor pulls the YAML, TOML, or JSON frontmatter block out of a Markdown file, parses it into structured data, and lets you output the result in any of the three formats. The body is extracted separately so you can manipulate or migrate both independently.
Privacy: This tool runs entirely in your browser. Your text is never uploaded, logged, or cached. Close the tab and it's gone. Verify in DevTools → Network: zero requests fire.
Every static-site migration eventually needs a frontmatter converter, and hand-writing one is a trap of edge cases. The parser runs 100% in your browser, and your content never leaves your device.
| Input | Output | Typical size | Speed | Login needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Markdown (.md) with frontmatter | Parsed frontmatter (YAML/JSON/TOML) + body | Any post size | < 10 ms | No |
Here's what this free tool does in detail — every feature is built to solve real problems, runs entirely in your browser, and is free forever.
Automatically detects and parses all three frontmatter flavors: YAML (--- delimiters — Jekyll, Hugo, Astro, 11ty, Docusaurus), TOML (+++ delimiters — Hugo, Zola), and JSON (;;; delimiters — rare but used by some SSGs). The detected source format is shown as a chip next to the character count so you know what shape your file has.
For a deeper Markdown structure analysis, use the Free Markdown to JSON (AST) tool.
Pick the output format (YAML, JSON, or TOML) with a radio toggle. Migrate from Jekyll's YAML to Hugo's TOML, from TOML back to YAML for Astro, or export to JSON for a static API. The extractor round-trips flat key/value pairs, simple arrays, inline arrays, multi-line lists, booleans, numbers, and nulls.
For bulk site migrations that also need link rewrites, use the Free Obsidian Wikilinks to Markdown.
The post body (everything after the closing frontmatter delimiter) is extracted into its own panel so you can copy it without the metadata. Useful when you're moving content to a CMS that stores frontmatter in a database and only needs the markdown body, or when you're running the body through a formatter or linter.
The frontmatter parser handles 95% of real-world shapes without pulling in a 100 KB YAML library. Flat keys, arrays (inline and multi-line), quoted strings, booleans, numbers, and nulls all work. For exotic shapes (deeply nested maps, anchors, tags), the output falls back to strings gracefully.
Once you have clean frontmatter, pair with the Free Markdown Formatter to normalize the body too.
A Jekyll, Hugo, Astro, 11ty, or Docusaurus post with a frontmatter block at the top.
YAML, JSON, or TOML — convert between any of the three.
Grab the parsed frontmatter for a script, or grab the body for a migration.
Audit frontmatter across hundreds of posts during a migration from Jekyll to Hugo or Astro.
Pipe frontmatter from existing posts into a headless CMS without hand-rewriting metadata.
Switch static site generators without losing post metadata.
Test frontmatter parsing without building a local dev environment.
Copy-paste spot checks to verify a batch migration is parsing frontmatter correctly.
Yes. Free forever, no account required.
YAML (---), TOML (+++), and JSON (;;;).
Yes. Pick the output format with the radio toggle to round-trip YAML ↔ JSON ↔ TOML.
Flat keys, arrays, booleans, numbers, and nulls all work. Deeply nested maps fall through as strings.
No. Runs 100% in your browser.