{"data":{"slug":"jq","name":"jq","tagline":"MIT command-line JSON processor — the ubiquitous pipe filter","category":"devops","categoryName":"DevOps","url":"https://jqlang.github.io/jq/","github":"https://github.com/jqlang/jq","pricing":"open-source","hook":"jq is the JSON sed/awk — pipe anything JSON through `.field | select()` and get exactly what you need.","whatsGood":"MIT. Lightweight C binary, available everywhere. Expressive filter language for slicing, transforming, and querying JSON streams. Essential for parsing API responses, log files, and config in shell scripts. Composes with curl, ripgrep, and every CLI that emits JSON. The lingua franca of JSON pipelines.","theCatch":"Vs yq (YAML/JSON/XML), fx (interactive), and jless (TUI viewer): jq is the *filter language*, not a viewer and not YAML-native. Syntax is its own DSL — steep initial learning curve for complex transforms. Error messages can be cryptic. No schema validation or type safety.","verdict":"MIT JSON filter. Free forever; the one CLI that belongs in every shell script touching JSON.","addedAt":"2026-09-09","featured":false,"domain":"DevOps","subSpecialty":"Tooling","subcategory":"Tooling","tags":["cli","self-host","permissive","license-unclear","active"],"capabilities":["json","cli","filter"],"surfaces":["CLI","Self-host"],"ecosystem":["Multi-platform"],"licenseModel":"OSS/MIT","githubStars":35855,"starsPerWeek":48,"access":"free","archived":false,"repo":{"createdAt":"2012-07-18","pushedAt":"2026-10-16","license":"NOASSERTION","archived":false,"checkedAt":"2026-10-19"}},"related":[{"slug":"github-actions","name":"GitHub Actions","tagline":"CI/CD that lives where your code does"},{"slug":"docker","name":"Docker","tagline":"Container runtime that changed deployment"},{"slug":"kubernetes","name":"Kubernetes","tagline":"Container orchestration at scale"},{"slug":"pulumi","name":"Pulumi","tagline":"Infrastructure as code in real languages"},{"slug":"fly-io","name":"Fly.io","tagline":"Deploy apps to VMs close to your users"}],"links":{"self":"/api/gems/jq","html":"/gems/jq","markdown":"/gems/jq.md","category":"/api/gems?category=devops","categoryPage":"/stacks/devops"}}