jq is a widely-used command-line utility and a very high-level, functional, domain-specific programming language designed for processing JSON data. It functions similarly to AWK or sed, but specifically operates on JSON values rather than lines of text.
In jq, programs are composed of filters that can be pipelined to perform various operations on their inputs. It allows users to slice, filter, map, and transform structured data with ease. jq is written in portable C and has zero runtime dependencies, making it highly flexible and lightweight.
Created by Stephen Dolan and released in October 2012, jq was initially described as “like sed for JSON data.” It is particularly useful for handling complex JSON structures, extracting specific information, and reshaping data for reports or further analysis. jq is also known for its ability to pretty-print JSON data, aligning brackets and applying proper spacing and indentation.
jq command-line utility