software catalog

content/software/jq.md

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+---
+title: "jq"
+category: "Terminal and shell"
+tagline: "Read, filter and reshape JSON on the command line."
+source: "pacman"
+package: "jq"
+command: "jq"
+website: "https://jqlang.org/"
+code: "https://github.com/jqlang/jq"
+---
+
+## What it is
+
+jq is a command-line processor for JSON. It pretty-prints JSON, pulls out the fields you want, and transforms data with a small filter language, which makes it the standard way to work with API responses and JSON files in scripts.
+
+```
+curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/jqlang/jq | jq '.stargazers_count'
+```
+
+## Why it's here
+
+- **JSON everywhere.** APIs and many tools output JSON, and jq makes it readable.
+- **Scriptable.** Shell scripts use it to pick values out of JSON.
+
+## On CoreDesktop
+
+jq is installed from pacman. CoreDesktop's own scripts use it too, for example `configure` reads Tailscale's status with it. `update` keeps jq current along with the rest of the pacman packages.