querying-json

Original：🇺🇸 English

Translated

Extracts specific fields from JSON files efficiently using jq instead of reading entire files, saving 80-95% context. Use this skill when querying JSON files, filtering/transforming data, or getting specific field(s) from large JSON files

2installs

Sourceiota9star/my-skills

Added on2026-02-08

NPX Install

npx skill4agent add iota9star/my-skills querying-json

SKILL.md Content

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jq: JSON Data Extraction Tool

Always invoke jq skill to extract JSON fields - do not execute bash commands directly.

Use jq to extract specific fields from JSON files without loading entire file contents into context.

When to Use jq vs Read

Use jq when:

Need specific field(s) from structured data file
File is large (>50 lines) and only need subset
Querying nested structures
Filtering/transforming data
Saves 80-95% context vs reading entire file

Just use Read when:

File is small (<50 lines)
Need to understand overall structure
Making edits (need full context anyway)

Common File Types

JSON files where jq excels:

package.json, tsconfig.json
Lock files (package-lock.json, yarn.lock in JSON format)
API responses
Configuration files

Default Strategy

Invoke jq skill for extracting specific fields from JSON files efficiently. Use instead of reading entire files to save 80-95% context.

Common workflow: fd skill → jq skill → other skills (fzf, sd, bat) for extraction and transformation.

Quick Examples

bash

# Get version from package.json
jq -r .version package.json

# Get nested dependency version
jq -r '.dependencies.react' package.json

# List all dependencies
jq -r '.dependencies | keys[]' package.json

Pipeline Combinations

jq | fzf: Interactive selection from JSON data
jq | sd: Transform JSON to other formats
jq | bat: View extracted JSON with syntax highlighting

Skill Combinations

For Discovery Phase

fd → jq: Find JSON config files and extract specific fields
ripgrep → jq: Find JSON usage patterns and extract values
extracting-code-structure → jq: Understand API structures before extraction

For Analysis Phase

jq → fzf: Interactive selection from structured data
jq → bat: View extracted data with syntax highlighting
jq → tokei: Extract statistics from JSON output

For Refactoring Phase

jq → sd: Transform JSON data to other formats
jq → yq: Convert JSON to YAML for different tools
jq → xargs: Use extracted values as command arguments

Multi-Skill Workflows

jq → yq → sd → bat: JSON to YAML transformation with preview
jq → fzf → xargs: Interactive selection and execution based on JSON data
fd → jq → ripgrep: Find config files, extract values, search usage

Common Integration Examples