6,117 stars · MIT (read from /blob/main/LICENSE, unmodified, 'Copyright (c) 2024 jnv authors') · v0.7.1 (1 Apr 2026, confirmed by crates.io) · Track this in Scout
Write a jq filter for a JSON file and watch the result update as you type.
▶Repo detailsthe review · specs · pros & cons · install
What it is
A terminal program that loads a JSON file and gives you an editable filter line with a live preview of the output underneath. It uses the same filter language as jq, so anything you work out here runs unchanged in a script afterwards.
What it is good for. Anyone who deals with JSON from a web interface or a log file and writes jq filters by trial and error. It removes the loop of edit, run, read the error, edit again. Edition 33 covered a similar tool for the same job, and the difference is a matter of taste rather than of capability, which is worth saying plainly.
- Plain MIT licence, read from the file, "Copyright (c) 2024 jnv authors".
- Four install routes: Homebrew, Cargo, conda-forge and a container.
- Busy. The newest code landed on 24 September 2026.
- Release v0.7.1 is dated 1 April 2026, confirmed by the Rust package index, which is six months ago. The code is a week old, so this is a release gap and not a quiet project.
- It reads a file or a stream and shows you a result. It does not write files, chain steps or run anything.
- It is pre-1.0, so a later version may change how something behaves.
noahgorstein/jqpCovered in Edition 33, 2,845 stars. The same job with a different layout, and its last code landed in February 2026 rather than last week.
Track this in Scout- antonmedv/fx
20,644 stars and much more popular. It is a viewer you move through with arrow keys first and a filter tool second, so it suits looking at JSON more than writing a filter.
Track this in Scout - 01mf02/jaq
3,678 stars. Not interactive at all: it is a faster and stricter replacement for jq itself, which is what you reach for once the filter is written.
Track this in Scout
brew install jnv
