- Category
- Developer Tools
- Rank
- No. 141Tools index
- Pricing
- Open Source
- Type
- TOOL
- Use case
- Data Processing
- Interfaces
- CLI
- Builder
- jqlang
- GitHub
- 35.7k stars
- Latest release
- jq-1.8.2
- Date
About
A lightweight command-line JSON processor that lets you slice, filter, map, and transform JSON data with zero runtime dependencies. Think of it as sed, awk, or grep specifically designed for JSON.
What it does
jq reads JSON from files or standard input, runs a filter program against each input value, and writes resulting values to standard output.
Why it's ranked here
jq makes a strong case for shell-based data work. Portable C and no runtime dependencies keep deployment simple, while streaming input, configurable output, argument binding, modules, and meaningful exit behavior support serious automation.
What's good
It handles both compact and readable output, raw strings, sorted keys, ASCII escaping, JSON sequences, and streaming parsing. Filters can come from files, receive named or positional values, and search module directories. Prebuilt binaries and Docker provide quick installation paths.
Tradeoffs
Its filter language and extensive command options create more learning work than simple field extraction suggests. Building from a repository checkout requires several build tools and a submodule, with extra parser-generator tools potentially needed. Some mathematical operations depend on platform capabilities discovered during compilation.
How to use it well
Use jq in shell pipelines, build scripts, and automation that receives JSON and must select, reshape, format, or test results. Prefer streaming mode for inputs that should not be parsed as one complete value. It does not replace the surrounding program that obtains, stores, or transports the data.
Technical notes+
README.md documents prebuilt binaries, a Docker image, Autotools-based source builds, static linking, and cross-compilation guidance. src/main.c implements the CLI, including raw, slurp, streaming, sequence, module-path, argument-binding, output-format, and exit-status modes; it also applies an Oniguruma parse-depth limit and contains Windows and OpenBSD branches. src/jq.h exposes a C API for compilation, execution, callbacks, attributes, input handling, halting, and teardown. src/jv.h and src/jv.c define the reference-counted JSON value layer, parser, printing flags, arrays, objects, strings, numbers, and comparisons. src/util.c manages multi-file input and position-aware errors. src/lexer.c and src/lexer.h contain the generated reentrant Flex scanner.
Observed
- License
- MIT for jq, CC BY 3.0 for documentation, with decNumber portions under the ICU License
- Primary language
- Portable C
- Runtime dependencies
- The README states zero runtime dependencies
- Install surface
- Prebuilt release binaries, Docker image, source build, and static-link build
- Interfaces
- Command-line interface and a public C API
- Platform support
- Source includes dedicated Windows handling and an OpenBSD pledge branch
- Build system
- Source builds use libtool, make, automake, autoconf, and configure
Read from README.md, src/main.c, src/jq.h, src/jv.c, src/jv.h, src/libm.h, src/util.c, src/util.h, src/lexer.c, src/lexer.h, src/jv_aux.c.
What it can do
Filter JSON data based on conditions
JSON data and filter criteria → Filtered JSON subset
Extract specific fields from JSON objects
JSON data and field selectors → Selected JSON values or fields
Transform JSON structure and format
JSON data and transformation rules → Restructured JSON data
Map operations across JSON arrays
JSON array and mapping expression → Transformed JSON array
Parse and validate JSON syntax
Raw JSON text → Parsed JSON or syntax errors
Format and pretty-print JSON
Unformatted JSON data → Formatted, readable JSON
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