dasel

Dasel is a structured-data query and transformation CLI for formats such as JSON, YAML, TOML, XML, CSV, HCL, and INI. It gives you one selector language for reading values, rewriting documents, searching nested data, and converting between formats in shell pipelines.

• Extract values, arrays, and nested matches from structured data across supported formats without switching tools.
• Rewrite documents by assigning expressions in the query, then emit either the selected result or the updated root document.
• Convert data between formats and pull file contents or variables into queries for config editing and data-wrangling workflows.

• Reads from stdin, writes to stdout, and exposes stable --in, --out, --root, and --var flags that fit inspect/change/verify loops.
• JSON output is real output support, not just JSON input handling, so agents can normalize other formats into structured output for follow-up steps.
• The default workflow is non-interactive and scriptable; the separate interactive mode is alpha and best treated as optional exploration rather than core automation surface.

• Editing files is usually done via pipes, redirection, or file-loaded variables rather than a dedicated in-place file flag.
• The query language is Dasel-specific, so complex transforms may require a quick docs or --help pass before automating them.