# jq

> MIT command-line JSON processor — the ubiquitous pipe filter

**Category:** DevOps  
**Pricing:** open-source  
**URL:** https://jqlang.github.io/jq/  
**GitHub:** https://github.com/jqlang/jq  
**Added:** 2026-09-09

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## The Hook

jq is the JSON sed/awk — pipe anything JSON through `.field | select()` and get exactly what you need.

## What's Good

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.

## The Catch

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.