jq — Command-line JSON Processor In-Depth Reference

Comprehensive reference for the jq language and CLI — filters, builtin functions, operators, path expressions, assignments, variables, functions, regex, format strings, dates, modules, and invocation. Covers jq 1.7. Source: https://jqlang.github.io/jq/manual/.

Data Flow

Input (stdin / files / --null-input)
  → JSON parser (stream of whitespace-separated values)
    → filter program (pipeline of filters, one input → zero or more outputs)
      → output formatter (--compact-output, --raw-output, --tab, --indent, --sort-keys)
        → stdout (newline-separated JSON texts)

A jq program is a single filter expression. Every filter takes one input and produces zero or more outputs. Filters compose with | (pipe), , (comma), and operators. Multiple outputs from one stage are fed one-by-one into the next — this is the generator model at the heart of jq.

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