JSON Query Tool Selection

Pick the right tool for JSON querying based on task, file size, and query complexity.

When to Use

• Extracting values from JSON files (especially large ones)
• Searching for keys at any depth in nested JSON
• Choosing between jq, jg (jsongrep), gron, or jmespath
• Writing path queries for JSON tree traversal
• Processing large JSON files (>1MB) where performance matters

Core Principle

jg for extraction, jq for transformation. jsongrep (jg) compiles path queries into DFAs for single-pass tree traversal — 3-7x faster than jq on large files. But jq is a full programming language for reshaping data. Use the right tool for the job.

Decision Matrix

Task	Tool	Why
Extract value by path from large file (>1MB)	jg	3-7x faster, 300+ MB/s throughput
Find all occurrences of a key at any depth	jg	DFA recursive descent: (* | [*])*.keyname
Transform/reshape JSON structure	jq	Full language: filters, math, string ops
Small file quick inspection	jq	Universal, difference is <2ms
Grep-like search for values	gron | grep	Flatten-then-grep is intuitive
Pipeline composition	jq	Mature ecosystem, better piping
Log analysis on large NDJSON	jg	Throughput advantage at scale

Syntax Mapping (jq → jg)

Operation	jq	jg
Field access	.field	field
Nested path	.a.b.c	a.b.c
Array index	.[0]	[0]
Array slice	.[0:5]	[0:5]
All array elements	.[]	[*]
Wildcard field	.[]	*
Recursive descent	.. | .key?	(* | [*])*.key
Multiple fields	.a, .b	(a | b)
Fixed string search	N/A	-F keyname (any depth)

Process

Step 1: Assess the Task

Is this extraction (finding/reading values) or transformation (reshaping/computing new values)?

• Extraction → consider jg first, especially for files >1MB
• Transformation → use jq

Step 2: Write the Query

For jg queries:

# Simple field
jg 'fieldname' file.json

# Nested path
jg 'data.users[0].profile.address.city' file.json

# Find all "description" keys at any depth
jg '(* | [*])*.description' file.json

# All array element fields
jg 'items[*].name' file.json

# Quick fixed-string search (any depth)
jg -F description file.json

# Count matches
jg '(* | [*])*.id' --count -n file.json

Step 3: Install if Needed

# jsongrep
cargo install jsongrep  # installs as 'jg'

# Verify
jg --version

Performance Reference

Benchmarked on 10MB files across 7 schema types (flat, nested, deep, array-heavy, mixed, wide, GeoJSON):

Query Pattern	jg	jq	jaq	Speedup (jg vs jq)
Simple field	31ms	184ms	90ms	5.9x
Nested path (4 levels)	25ms	158ms	66ms	6.4x
Recursive descent	44ms	327ms	383ms	7.5x
Array wildcard	53ms	198ms	92ms	3.7x
Deep path (15 levels)	37ms	155ms	59ms	4.2x

Full benchmark data: research/schema-processing/REPORT.md

References

• Query syntax details: see references/syntax_guide.md
• Full benchmark report: research/schema-processing/REPORT.md
• jsongrep GitHub: https://github.com/micahkepe/jsongrep
• Blog post: https://micahkepe.com/blog/jsongrep/