Choosing a Configuration File Format
Offers criteria for choosing among JSON, YAML, and XML for a project's configuration file.
When choosing a configuration file format, first think about who edits the file most often. If people edit it by hand frequently, YAML — with its comments and conciseness — has the advantage.
Often a tool or library already requires a specific format. For example, many JavaScript tools use JSON, container and orchestration tools use YAML, and some enterprise environments use XML.
There is no single right answer. Choose a format your team finds easy to read and that fits your tools well, and remember that you can convert between them when needed — that takes the pressure off the decision.