jq

jq is a command-line JSON processor that provides sed/awk/grep-like functionality for JSON data. Written in portable C with zero runtime dependencies, it enables users to slice, filter, map, and transform structured JSON data through a domain-specific query language.

The tool operates as a filter, taking JSON input and producing JSON output based on specified expressions. Users can extract specific fields, transform data structures, perform calculations, and apply complex queries to JSON documents. jq supports advanced operations including array manipulation, object construction, conditional logic, and mathematical operations on JSON data.

Developers, system administrators, and data engineers commonly use jq for processing API responses, configuration files, log analysis, and data pipeline operations. The tool integrates well into shell scripts and command pipelines, making it particularly valuable for automation tasks that involve JSON data manipulation. jq can be built as a statically linked binary and supports cross-compilation for various platforms.

Installation

# via Docker
docker run --rm -i ghcr.io/jqlang/jq:latest

# via Source
git submodule update --init && autoreconf -i && ./configure --with-oniguruma=builtin && make -j8 && sudo make install