Why am I getting '`parse': (): mapping values are not allowed in this context' in YAML file in Ruby

Question

I am getting the above error when trying to open my Yaml file in Ruby. I have checked the YAML in this validator and it has passed http://yamllint.com/. I'm not sure what could be wrong with my YAML that would be preventing it from opening. Any ideas? Here is the YAML file. I am trying to open the file with `yml = YAML::load(File.open('servers.yml'))` ``` --- servers: - ps-overture-d01 location: ps-overture-d01 tomcat_location: /home/tomcat/tomcat/webapps/report/ user: tomcat menus: - Accounts Receivable reports: - Accounts Receivable Aging Report name: AccountsReceivableAgingReport location: /public/Common/Reports/Accounts_Receivable_Reports - Inventory reports: - Inventory Master List Report name: InventoryMasterListReport location: /public/Common/Reports/Inventory_Reports - Inventory Totals Report name: InventoryTotalsReport location: /public/Common/Reports/Inventory_Reports - Dealer Purchasing Report name: DealerPurchasingReport location: /public/Common/Reports/Inventory_Reports -…

Accepted Answer

Your problem lies in lines which have no colon:

```
  - ps-overture-d01
    location: ps-overture-d01
```

What http://yamllint.com/ does is concatenate them to the next line:

```
? "ps-overture-d01 location"
: ps-overture-d01
```

Ruby's YAML library does not do that, but throws an error instead. I'm not sure you meant to have the lines in question concatenated, so you need to see how to properly adjust the YAML to give a sensible structure, perhaps add `id:` to each of those lines?

```
  - id: ps-overture-d01
    location: ps-overture-d01
```

Here is your example, with the change I suggested:

```
---
servers:
  - id: ps-overture-d01
    location: ps-overture-d01
    tomcat_location: /home/tomcat/tomcat/webapps/report/
    user: tomcat
    menus:
      - id: Accounts Receivable
        reports:
          - id: Accounts Receivable Aging Report
            name: AccountsReceivableAgingReport
            location: /public/Common/Reports/Accounts_Receivable_Reports
      - id: Inventory
        reports:
          - id: Inventory Master List Report
            name: InventoryMasterListReport
            location: /public/Common/Reports/Inventory_Reports
          - id: Inventory Totals Report
            name: InventoryTotalsReport
            location: /public/Common/Reports/Inventory_Reports
          - id: Dealer Purchasing Report
            name: DealerPurchasingReport
            location: /public/Common/Reports/Inventory_Reports
          - id: DOA Report
            name: DOAReport
            location: /public/Common/Reports/Inventory_Reports
          - id: Stock Transfers Report
            name: StockTransfersReport
            location: /public/Common/Reports/Inventory_Reports
          - id: Removed Inventory Report
            name: RemovedInventoryReport
            location: /public/Common/Reports/Inventory_Reports
          - id: Inventory Order Sheet Report
            name: InventoryOrderSheetReport
            location: /public/Common/Reports/Inventory_Reports
          - id: Inventory Totals GMROI Report
            name: InventoryTotalsGMROIReport
            location: /public/Common/Reports/Inventory_Reports
          - id: Master Inventory GMROI Report
            name: MasterInventoryGMROIReport
            location: /public/Common/Reports/Inventory_Reports
          - id: Dead Stock Report
            name: DeadInventoryReport
            location: /public/Common/Reports/Inventory_Reports
          - id: Dead Stock Report Details
            name: DeadInventoryReportDetails
            location: /public/Common/Reports/Inventory_Reports
          - id: Negative Quantity Report
            name: NegativeInventoryQTYReport
            location: /public/Common/Reports/Inventory_Reports
```

Why am I getting '`parse': (<unknown>): mapping values are not allowed in this context' in YAML file in Ruby

Solution

Problem