---
id: ruamel-yaml-string
version: "0.1.1"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: abandoned
---

# ruamel.yaml.string — add dump_to_string/dumps method that returns YAML document as string

License: permissive · Maintenance: abandoned · Downloads: 415.6K/mo

## What it is and what it does

ruamel.yaml.string is a plugin for ruamel.yaml that extends the YAML instance with a `dump_to_string` method (aliased as `dumps`). Instead of writing YAML output to a file or stream, it returns the serialized document as a plain Python string. This is useful when you need YAML serialization in memory rather than direct I/O—for example, when building YAML strings for APIs or configuration generation. The method returns the string without a final newline by default, though an `add_final_eol` parameter can control this behavior. The plugin requires ruamel.yaml as a dependency and supports Python 3 and above.

The package is minimal in scope: it adds one core capability to an existing library rather than providing a standalone tool. It has no external runtime dependencies beyond ruamel.yaml and installs as a pure Python wheel. However, it has been abandoned for over 1200 days with no maintenance activity, so compatibility with recent versions of ruamel.yaml is uncertain.

Use it for:

- Generate YAML strings programmatically for APIs or configuration files without writing to disk
- Serialize Python data structures to YAML format for embedding in log messages
- Build YAML documents in memory for dynamic configuration generation
- Convert Python dictionaries to YAML strings for storage in databases or message queues

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Adds a `dump_to_string` method to ruamel.yaml.YAML instances that serializes YAML data to a Python string instead of writing to a file or stream.

Yes, if you are already using ruamel.yaml and need to serialize to strings rather than files. The MIT license is unrestricted, install friction is low, and there are no known vulnerabilities. However, the abandoned status (1200+ days without maintenance) means you should verify compatibility with your version of ruamel.yaml before relying on it in production.

## Install

pip install ruamel-yaml-string
uv add ruamel-yaml-string
poetry add ruamel-yaml-string

## Installing ruamel.yaml.string

Before you install: Low install friction with no runtime dependencies. However, the package is marked abandoned with no releases for over 1200 days, indicating no active maintenance.

License in practice: MIT license is permissive and poses no restrictions on use, modification, or distribution in proprietary or open-source projects.

Quickstart:

pip install ruamel.yaml.string

import ruamel.yaml

yaml = ruamel.yaml.YAML(typ=['rt', 'string'])
data = dict(abc=42, help=['on', 'its', 'way'])
result = yaml.dump_to_string(data)

Requires ruamel.yaml to be installed; Python >= 3 required

Verify before relying:

- Current compatibility with recent versions of ruamel.yaml given the 1200+ day gap since last release
- Whether the plugin continues to function correctly with modern ruamel.yaml releases

## Package facts

- License: MIT (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: abandoned
- Downloads: 415.6K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

yaml to string conversion, serialize yaml to string, ruamel.yaml string output, dump yaml as string, yaml dumps method, in-memory yaml serialization, yaml-serialization, ruamel-yaml-plugin

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/ruamel-yaml-string) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/ruamel-yaml-string/)