yq

yq is a jq-like data processor for reading, reshaping, converting, and updating structured documents from files or stdin. It is most useful as a shell primitive for config files, manifests, API payloads, and multi-step pipelines that need more than plain text parsing.

• Read or update nested fields in YAML, JSON, XML, TOML, HCL, INI, properties, CSV, and TSV data without writing custom parsers.
• Merge multiple config files, create new documents from scratch, and rewrite files in place for automation or repo maintenance tasks.
• Convert between structured formats and emit JSON or line-delimited JSON for downstream tools, scripts, or agent follow-up steps.

• Flags, stdin support, exit behavior, and non-interactive eval or eval-all commands make it easy to slot into shell loops and CI jobs.
• Machine-readable output is solid: explicit input and output format flags, JSON output, and compact single-line JSON reduce parsing friction for agents.
• Best used as a data-shaping primitive around other CLIs and files, where an agent needs to inspect config state, apply deterministic edits, and verify the result.

• It does not implement all of jq, so some filters or edge-case expectations will not transfer directly.
• Round-tripping comments and whitespace is best-effort rather than exact, especially in more complex YAML or XML cases.