diff --git a/src/parser/yaml.rs b/src/parser/yaml.rs
index 7edf319..88b8e6b 100644
--- a/src/parser/yaml.rs
+++ b/src/parser/yaml.rs
@@ -10,6 +10,9 @@ use crate::{Error, Result};
 /// Unity files use the YAML 1.1 multi-document format, where each document
 /// starts with `---`. This function splits the file into individual documents.
 ///
+/// Returns string slices referencing the original content, avoiding allocations.
+/// Callers can convert slices to owned strings with `.to_string()` if needed.
+///
 /// # Example
 ///
 /// ```
@@ -19,48 +22,45 @@ use crate::{Error, Result};
 /// let docs = split_yaml_documents(content).unwrap();
 /// assert_eq!(docs.len(), 2);
 /// ```
-pub fn split_yaml_documents(content: &str) -> Result<Vec<String>> {
+pub fn split_yaml_documents<'a>(content: &'a str) -> Result<Vec<&'a str>> {
     let mut documents = Vec::new();
-    let mut current_doc = String::new();
-    let mut in_document = false;
-    let mut header_lines = Vec::new();
+    let mut doc_start: Option<usize> = None;
+    let mut pos = 0;
+
+    // Use split_inclusive to keep newlines, making byte position tracking easier
+    for line in content.split_inclusive('\n') {
+        // Get the line content without line endings for checking
+        let trimmed = line.trim_end_matches(&['\r', '\n'][..]);
 
-    for line in content.lines() {
         // Skip empty lines before first document
-        if line.trim().is_empty() && !in_document && current_doc.is_empty() {
+        if trimmed.is_empty() && doc_start.is_none() {
+            pos += line.len();
             continue;
         }
 
-        // Handle YAML headers (%YAML and %TAG)
-        if line.starts_with('%') {
-            if !in_document {
-                header_lines.push(line);
-            }
+        // Skip YAML headers (%YAML and %TAG)
+        if trimmed.starts_with('%') {
+            pos += line.len();
             continue;
         }
 
         // Check if this is a document separator
-        if line.starts_with("---") {
-            // If we have a current document, save it
-            if !current_doc.is_empty() {
-                documents.push(current_doc.trim().to_string());
-                current_doc.clear();
+        if trimmed.starts_with("---") {
+            // Save previous document if exists
+            if let Some(start) = doc_start {
+                documents.push(content[start..pos].trim());
             }
 
-            // Start a new document with this line
-            current_doc.push_str(line);
-            current_doc.push('\n');
-            in_document = true;
-        } else if in_document {
-            // Add line to current document
-            current_doc.push_str(line);
-            current_doc.push('\n');
+            // Mark the start of the new document
+            doc_start = Some(pos);
         }
+
+        pos += line.len();
     }
 
     // Add the last document if it exists
-    if !current_doc.is_empty() {
-        documents.push(current_doc.trim().to_string());
+    if let Some(start) = doc_start {
+        documents.push(content[start..].trim());
     }
 
     // Validate we found at least one document