gojq

gojq is a portable jq implementation for querying and transforming structured data from stdin or files, with optional YAML input and output support. It is mainly a shell primitive for inspecting and reshaping JSON between other commands.

• Extract fields, filter arrays, and reshape API responses, logs, or config files inside shell pipelines.
• Read JSON or YAML from stdin or files, apply jq-style expressions, and emit JSON, compact JSON, raw strings, or YAML for downstream steps.
• Build repeatable data-processing steps with query files, variable injection, slurp and stream modes, and file-based module loading.

• stdin and stdout behavior is predictable, flags are non-interactive, and --exit-status helps scripts branch on query results.
• Structured output is a core strength here: JSON is the default stdout format, with compact and raw modes available when shell composition needs them.
• Best used as glue alongside service CLIs or HTTP calls, where an agent needs to inspect, normalize, or transform structured payloads before the next command.

• Compatibility is close to jq but not exact: the README documents missing flags, unsupported functions, and differences such as object key ordering behavior.
• This is a data-processing primitive, not a service CLI, so it only becomes useful in a larger workflow when paired with other commands or files.