diff --git a/bec_widgets/qt_utils/yaml_dialog.py b/bec_widgets/qt_utils/yaml_dialog.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..8d26b484
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bec_widgets/qt_utils/yaml_dialog.py
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+import yaml
+from PyQt5.QtWidgets import QFileDialog
+
+# TODO add pydantic/json scheme validation for config files as an optional argument
+
+
+def load_yaml(instance) -> dict:
+    """
+    Load a YAML file and update the settings
+    Args:
+        instance: parent instance (named instance to avoid conflict with keyword in QFileDialog)
+
+    Returns:
+        config(dict): dictionary of settings
+    """
+    options = QFileDialog.Options()
+
+    options |= QFileDialog.DontUseNativeDialog
+    file_path, _ = QFileDialog.getOpenFileName(
+        instance, "Load Settings", "", "YAML Files (*.yaml);;All Files (*)", options=options
+    )
+
+    if file_path:
+        try:
+            with open(file_path, "r") as file:
+                config = yaml.safe_load(file)
+            return config
+
+        except FileNotFoundError:
+            print(f"The file {file_path} was not found.")
+        except Exception as e:
+            print(f"An error occurred while loading the settings from {file_path}: {e}")
+            return None  # Return None on exception to indicate failure
+
+
+def save_yaml(instance, config: dict) -> None:
+    """
+    Save the settings to a YAML file
+    Args:
+        instance: parent instance (named instance to avoid conflict with keyword in QFileDialog)
+        config(dict): dictionary of settings to save to .yaml file
+    """
+
+    options = QFileDialog.Options()
+    options |= QFileDialog.DontUseNativeDialog
+    file_path, _ = QFileDialog.getSaveFileName(
+        instance, "Save Settings", "", "YAML Files (*.yaml);;All Files (*)", options=options
+    )
+
+    if file_path:
+        try:
+            if not file_path.endswith(".yaml"):
+                file_path += ".yaml"
+
+            with open(file_path, "w") as file:
+                yaml.dump(config, file)
+                print(f"Settings saved to {file_path}")
+        except Exception as e:
+            print(f"An error occurred while saving the settings to {file_path}: {e}")