> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.internetobject.org/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.internetobject.org/interoperability/conversions.md).

# Converting To/From Other Formats

Converting Internet Object to and from JSON and other formats.

Internet Object interoperates with common data formats. This page summarizes how data maps in each direction. For the JSON specifics, see [JSON Compatibility](/interoperability/json-compatibility.md).

## JSON

* **JSON → IO** — direct: a JSON object/array is valid Internet Object data. Optionally lift repeated keys into a schema to shrink collections.
* **IO → JSON** — direct for the common types; lossy for `decimal`, `bigint`, `datetime`, `binary`, and `NaN`/`Inf` (see [JSON Compatibility](/interoperability/json-compatibility.md)).

## CSV

* **CSV → IO** — a header row maps to a schema; each data row becomes a collection record:

  ```ruby
  # CSV:  name,age,active
  #       John,30,true
  name: string, age: int, active: bool
  ---
  ~ John, 30, true
  ```
* **IO → CSV** — flat collections export cleanly; nested objects/arrays must be flattened or encoded, since CSV has no nesting.

## YAML

YAML and Internet Object both support nesting and comments. Conversion is straightforward for scalars, maps, and sequences; Internet Object adds schema and validation that YAML lacks, and its richer scalar types (`decimal`, `bigint`, `datetime`, `binary`) map to YAML scalars.

## General guidance

* Converting **into** Internet Object is a good time to add a schema and tighten types.
* Converting **out** may be lossy for the precise types above — keep the canonical copy in Internet Object when exactness matters.

## See Also

* [JSON Compatibility](/interoperability/json-compatibility.md) · [Why Internet Object?](/internet-object/why-internet-object.md)


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