/** True for a YAML mapping: a plain object, not a list. */
export declare function isMapping(value: unknown): value is Record<string, unknown>;
/** Plain words for a value's YAML shape, for error messages: `a string ("old-init")`, `a list (2 items)`. */
export declare function describeShape(value: unknown): string;
/**
 * A parsed .faf document as a mapping. An empty document reads as `{}`; a
 * scalar or a list throws a SafePathError (`not-yaml`), so the CLI prints it
 * as one line — faf never rewrites a file whose shape it does not
 * understand. `source` names the file (or caller) in the error.
 */
export declare function asFafMapping(value: unknown, source: string): Record<string, unknown>;