diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 5c772e8c0..cfb827282 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 - output passed to write_params_file as Path object ([#3435](https://github.com/nf-core/tools/pull/3435))
 - chore(deps): update python:3.12-slim docker digest to 69ce3ae ([#3433](https://github.com/nf-core/tools/pull/3433))
 - chore(deps): update pre-commit hook astral-sh/ruff-pre-commit to v0.9.4 ([#3438](https://github.com/nf-core/tools/pull/3438))
+- format name/value with YAML syntax ([#3442](https://github.com/nf-core/tools/pull/3442))
 
 ## [v3.2.0 - Pewter Pangolin](https://github.com/nf-core/tools/releases/tag/3.2.0) - [2025-01-27]
 
diff --git a/nf_core/pipelines/params_file.py b/nf_core/pipelines/params_file.py
index 48e4dfe46..6699068b4 100644
--- a/nf_core/pipelines/params_file.py
+++ b/nf_core/pipelines/params_file.py
@@ -213,7 +213,7 @@ def format_param(
             out += _print_wrapped("Required", mode="none", indent=4)
 
         out += _print_wrapped("\n", mode="end")
-        out += f"# {name} = {json.dumps(default)}\n"
+        out += f"# {name}: {json.dumps(default)}\n"
 
         return out
 
diff --git a/tests/pipelines/test_params_file.py b/tests/pipelines/test_params_file.py
index 0450d3f99..723a8a561 100644
--- a/tests/pipelines/test_params_file.py
+++ b/tests/pipelines/test_params_file.py
@@ -64,4 +64,4 @@ def test_build_template_content(self):
             out = fh.read()
 
         assert "nf-core/testpipeline" in out
-        assert "# input = null" in out
+        assert "# input: null" in out