Tag
Json tools
7 reviewed tools: 7 free or open source.
Order: free and open source first, then hosted products with a real free tier, then paid-led; catalog order inside each group, with quiet or archived repos last. Not a score, and no tool pays for its place.
7 tools
- jqMIT command-line JSON processor — the ubiquitous pipe filter
Free / OSS · OSS/MIT · 35.9k GitHub stars
VerdictMIT JSON filter. Free forever; the one CLI that belongs in every shell script touching JSON.
CatchVs 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.
- yqMIT portable YAML/JSON/XML/CSV/TOML processor (Go)
Free / OSS · OSS/MIT · 16.1k GitHub stars
VerdictMIT multi-format jq cousin. Free forever; use mikefarah/yq when the file is YAML (or XML/CSV/TOML), not only JSON.
Catchmikefarah/yq ≠ kislyuk/yq — this entry is the Go binary (`mikefarah/yq`), not the Python wrapper around jq. Vs jq (JSON-only filter language): yq is multi-format structured data, not a jq dialect clone of every filter. Feature parity with jq is incomplete on purpose; learn the Go yq docs.
- MillerBSD-2-Clause named-field CSV/TSV/JSON munging (mlr)
Free / OSS · OSS/MIT · 10k GitHub stars
VerdictBSD-2-Clause tabular CLI. Free forever; munge CSV/TSV/JSON by field name before you open a notebook.
CatchVs jq (JSON filter) and DuckDB (SQL over files): Miller is the *named-field CLI verb chain*, not a full SQL engine and not jq’s JSON DSL. Great for tabular streams; heavy analytics and joins may outgrow mlr into DuckDB/Polars. Distinct from yq’s document-shaped transforms.
- jlessMIT interactive JSON pager — explore, do not filter
Free / OSS · OSS/MIT · 5.5k GitHub stars
VerdictMIT JSON pager. Free forever; explore the blob before you write the filter.
CatchLast commit June 2024 (latest release v0.9.0, July 2023): stable but unmaintained, so expect no fixes or new releases. Vs jq (*filter language*): jless is an interactive *viewer/pager*, not a transform DSL and not a YAML tool. Pair with jq when you need to rewrite; open jless when you need to see.
- daselMIT one selector across JSON/YAML/TOML/XML/CSV
Free / OSS · OSS/MIT · 8k GitHub stars
VerdictMIT multi-format selector. Free forever; one syntax when the document format keeps changing.
CatchVs yq (jq-shaped multi-format Go CLI) and jq (JSON filter language): dasel is *one selector* across formats, not a jq dialect clone and not YAML-only muscle memory. Learn dasel’s selector docs; do not assume every jq filter ports. Distinct from Miller (tabular verbs).
- jcMIT CLI stdout→JSON so jq pipes stop parsing text
Free / OSS · OSS/MIT · 8.7k GitHub stars
VerdictMIT stdout→JSON. Free forever; serialize the CLI before you invent another awk field splitter.
CatchVs jq (JSON *filter*): jc is the *ingress* that makes stdout JSON; it does not replace jq transforms. Parser coverage is wide but not infinite — unsupported commands still need custom parsing. Python/pip (or a release binary) is a dependency versus tools that ship only static Go/Rust.
- gronMIT flatten JSON to greppable assignments
Free / OSS · OSS/MIT · 14.5k GitHub stars · quiet 180d+
VerdictMIT greppable JSON. Free forever; flatten, grep, ungron — then graduate to jq when the filter is the point.
CatchSOFT: last commit ~May 2025 — quiet but not abandoned folklore. Vs jq (filter language): gron is *flatten-for-grep*, not a transform DSL. Huge blobs become huge line piles; know when jq select() is the shorter path.
FAQ
- What is the top free pick among Json tools?
- jq leads the Stack Gems list for Json tools. Verdict: MIT JSON filter. Free forever; the one CLI that belongs in every shell script touching JSON.
- How many Json tools does Stack Gems review?
- 7: 7 free or open source. Each review has a verdict and an honest Catch; no tool pays for its spot.
- Which Json tools can I self-host for free?
- jq, yq, Miller, jless, dasel, jc and gron.
- Which Json tools have the most GitHub stars?
- jq (35.9k), yq (16.1k), gron (14.5k), per GitHub on 2026-10-19. Stars measure attention, not fit; read the Catch.
- What is the catch with jq?
- Vs yq (YAML/JSON/XML), fx (interactive), and jless (TUI viewer): jq is the *filter language*, not a viewer and not YAML-native.