jq Playground

The jq Playground runs a jq filter against your JSON and shows the output as you type. It is the real jq 1.8, compiled to WebAssembly, so filters behave exactly as on the command line.

Paste JSON on the left and type a filter at the top. The badge shows how many results the filter produced.

Options

Option	Same as	Does
Raw output	jq -r	Prints strings without quotes — for lists of values, @csv and @tsv
Compact	jq -c	One result per line
Slurp	jq -s	Reads every input value into one array
Null input	jq -n	Ignores the input; the filter starts from null
Sort keys	jq -S	Sorts object keys in the output

NDJSON / JSON Lines: paste one JSON value per line. The filter runs on each; turn on Slurp to work with all of them at once.

Cheat sheet

The examples use the playground’s Sample document — a list of users with their orders.

Filter	Does	Example
.	The whole input	.
.key / .["key"]	A field	.users
.[]	Every item of an array (or value of an object)	.users[]
.[n], .[a:b]	An item or a slice; negative counts from the end	.users[0], .users[-1], .users[:2]
|	Pipe one filter into the next	.users[] | .name
,	Several outputs	.users[0] | .name, .email
{a, b}	Build an object from fields	.users[] | {name, email}
[ … ]	Collect outputs into an array	[.users[].name]
select(cond)	Keep values where the condition is true	.users[] | select(.active)
map(f)	Apply a filter to every array item	.users | map(.id)
length	Length of an array, string or object	.users | length
keys, to_entries	Object keys, or key/value pairs	.users[0] | keys
add	Sum numbers, join strings or arrays	[.users[].orders[].total] | add
group_by(f)	Group array items	.users | group_by(.country)
sort_by(f), unique_by(f)	Sort or de-duplicate by a field	.users | sort_by(.name)
a // b	b when a is null or false	.nickname // .name
if … then … else … end	Conditions	if .active then "yes" else "no" end
@csv, @tsv	Format an array as a CSV or TSV line (use Raw output)	.users[] | [.id, .name] | @csv
paths(scalars)	The path of every leaf value	[paths(scalars) | join(".")]
del(.key)	Remove a field	.users | map(del(.orders))

Common recipes

• Count items matching a condition: .users | map(select(.active)) | length
• Turn an array into an object by id: .users | map({(.id | tostring): .name}) | add
• Sum a nested field per item: .users | map({name, spent: ([.orders[].total] | add // 0)})
• Flatten to CSV: .users[] | [.id, .name, .country] | @csv with Raw output on
• Find every key named email, at any depth: .. | .email? // empty

Errors

• Filter errors (a typo, an unknown function) show under the filter with the line and column.
• Invalid JSON is marked in the input with the line and column.
• Runtime errors (for example indexing a number) show above the output, along with any results produced before the error.

A filter that never finishes, such as range(1e10), is stopped after a few seconds so the page stays responsive.

Privacy

jq runs in your browser and works offline. Nothing is uploaded. Large numbers such as 64-bit IDs stay exact. Share puts the JSON, filter and options in the link after #, which is never sent to a server.