diff --git a/pkg/yqlib/candidate_node_yaml.go b/pkg/yqlib/candidate_node_yaml.go
index 14beb073..03b137a4 100644
--- a/pkg/yqlib/candidate_node_yaml.go
+++ b/pkg/yqlib/candidate_node_yaml.go
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ package yqlib
 import (
 	"fmt"
 
-	yaml "go.yaml.in/yaml/v3"
+	yaml "go.yaml.in/yaml/v4"
 )
 
 func MapYamlStyle(original yaml.Style) Style {
diff --git a/pkg/yqlib/decoder_yaml.go b/pkg/yqlib/decoder_yaml.go
index 070b1658..5e92b14c 100644
--- a/pkg/yqlib/decoder_yaml.go
+++ b/pkg/yqlib/decoder_yaml.go
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import (
 	"regexp"
 	"strings"
 
-	yaml "go.yaml.in/yaml/v3"
+	yaml "go.yaml.in/yaml/v4"
 )
 
 type yamlDecoder struct {
diff --git a/pkg/yqlib/doc/operators/anchor-and-alias-operators.md b/pkg/yqlib/doc/operators/anchor-and-alias-operators.md
index cfdc8579..ab5a6572 100644
--- a/pkg/yqlib/doc/operators/anchor-and-alias-operators.md
+++ b/pkg/yqlib/doc/operators/anchor-and-alias-operators.md
@@ -198,12 +198,6 @@ then
 yq 'explode(.f)' sample.yml
 ```
 will output
-```yaml
-f:
-  a: cat
-  cat: b
-```
-
 ## Dereference and update a field
 Use explode with multiply to dereference an object
 
@@ -345,139 +339,3 @@ x: 1
 y: 2
 ```
 
-## FIXED: Explode with merge anchors
-Set `--yaml-fix-merge-anchor-to-spec=true` to get this correct merge behaviour (flag will default to true in late 2025).
-Observe that foobarList.b property is still foobarList_b.
-
-Given a sample.yml file of:
-```yaml
-foo: &foo
-  a: foo_a
-  thing: foo_thing
-  c: foo_c
-bar: &bar
-  b: bar_b
-  thing: bar_thing
-  c: bar_c
-foobarList:
-  b: foobarList_b
-  !!merge <<:
-    - *foo
-    - *bar
-  c: foobarList_c
-foobar:
-  c: foobar_c
-  !!merge <<: *foo
-  thing: foobar_thing
-```
-then
-```bash
-yq 'explode(.)' sample.yml
-```
-will output
-```yaml
-foo:
-  a: foo_a
-  thing: foo_thing
-  c: foo_c
-bar:
-  b: bar_b
-  thing: bar_thing
-  c: bar_c
-foobarList:
-  b: foobarList_b
-  a: foo_a
-  thing: foo_thing
-  c: foobarList_c
-foobar:
-  c: foobar_c
-  a: foo_a
-  thing: foobar_thing
-```
-
-## FIXED: Merge multiple maps
-Set `--yaml-fix-merge-anchor-to-spec=true` to get this correct merge behaviour (flag will default to true in late 2025).
-Taken from https://yaml.org/type/merge.html. Same values as legacy, but with the correct key order.
-
-Given a sample.yml file of:
-```yaml
-- &CENTER
-  x: 1
-  y: 2
-- &LEFT
-  x: 0
-  y: 2
-- &BIG
-  r: 10
-- &SMALL
-  r: 1
-- !!merge <<:
-    - *CENTER
-    - *BIG
-```
-then
-```bash
-yq '.[4] | explode(.)' sample.yml
-```
-will output
-```yaml
-x: 1
-y: 2
-r: 10
-```
-
-## FIXED: Override
-Set `--yaml-fix-merge-anchor-to-spec=true` to get this correct merge behaviour (flag will default to true in late 2025).
-Taken from https://yaml.org/type/merge.html. Same values as legacy, but with the correct key order.
-
-Given a sample.yml file of:
-```yaml
-- &CENTER
-  x: 1
-  y: 2
-- &LEFT
-  x: 0
-  y: 2
-- &BIG
-  r: 10
-- &SMALL
-  r: 1
-- !!merge <<:
-    - *BIG
-    - *LEFT
-    - *SMALL
-  x: 1
-```
-then
-```bash
-yq '.[4] | explode(.)' sample.yml
-```
-will output
-```yaml
-r: 10
-y: 2
-x: 1
-```
-
-## Exploding inline merge anchor
-Set `--yaml-fix-merge-anchor-to-spec=true` to get this correct merge behaviour (flag will default to true in late 2025).
-
-
-Given a sample.yml file of:
-```yaml
-a:
-  b: &b 42
-!!merge <<:
-  c: *b
-```
-then
-```bash
-yq 'explode(.) | sort_keys(.)' sample.yml
-```
-will output
-```yaml
-a:
-  b: 42
-c: 42
-```
-
diff --git a/pkg/yqlib/encoder_yaml.go b/pkg/yqlib/encoder_yaml.go
index 8c65899f..3b6b92b5 100644
--- a/pkg/yqlib/encoder_yaml.go
+++ b/pkg/yqlib/encoder_yaml.go
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 
 	"github.com/fatih/color"
-	"go.yaml.in/yaml/v3"
+	"go.yaml.in/yaml/v4"
 )
 
 type yamlEncoder struct {
diff --git a/pkg/yqlib/operator_anchors_aliases_test.go b/pkg/yqlib/operator_anchors_aliases_test.go
index 4b4832e6..32f7d2ec 100644
--- a/pkg/yqlib/operator_anchors_aliases_test.go
+++ b/pkg/yqlib/operator_anchors_aliases_test.go
@@ -464,7 +464,7 @@ var anchorOperatorScenarios = []expressionScenario{
 	},
 	{
 		skipDoc:    true,
-		document:   `{f : {a: &a cat, b: &b {foo: *a}, *a: *b}}`,
+		document:   `{f : {a: &a cat, b: &b {foo: *a}, *a : *b}}`,
 		expression: `explode(.f)`,
 		expected: []string{
 			"D0, P[], (!!map)::{f: {a: cat, b: {foo: cat}, cat: {foo: cat}}}\n",
diff --git a/pkg/yqlib/printer_node_info.go b/pkg/yqlib/printer_node_info.go
index cd047aee..0bc8b09a 100644
--- a/pkg/yqlib/printer_node_info.go
+++ b/pkg/yqlib/printer_node_info.go
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"container/list"
 	"io"
 
-	"go.yaml.in/yaml/v3"
+	"go.yaml.in/yaml/v4"
 )
 
 type nodeInfoPrinter struct {