jq is a single small binary — install it once and pipe JSON through it anywhere.
Linux
# Debian / Ubuntu
sudo apt install -y jq
# Fedora / RHEL
sudo dnf install -y jq
# Arch
sudo pacman -S jq
macOS
brew install jq
Windows
winget install jqlang.jq
# or
scoop install jq
# or
choco install jq
Verify
jq --version
You should see something like jq-1.7.1. A few recipes use 1.7+ builtins (noted where relevant);
the core filters work on 1.6 too.
Test it
echo '{"hello":"world"}' | jq '.'
Output:
{
"hello": "world"
}
No install needed to experiment: jqplay.org runs jq in the browser — handy for trying a filter
before you have jq locally. But for piping real command output (curl … | jq …), install the binary.