Nushell Data Processing

Expert knowledge for structured data processing using nushell, a shell that treats data as tables rather than text streams.

Core Advantages Over jq/yq

Feature	nushell	jq/yq
Native tables	Yes - visual output	No - text-based
Multi-format	JSON, YAML, TOML, CSV, XML	Single format each
Type awareness	Rich type system	Limited
Shell integration	Full shell capabilities	Filter only
Complex transforms	Natural syntax	Complex expressions

Essential Commands

Opening Data Files

# Auto-detect format from extension
open data.json
open config.yaml
open settings.toml
open report.csv

# Explicit parsing
"[1, 2, 3]" | from json
"name: value" | from yaml
"a,b,c\n1,2,3" | from csv

Format Conversion

# Convert between formats
open data.json | to yaml
open config.yaml | to json
open data.csv | to json

# Compact JSON output (for piping)
open data.json | to json -r

Table Operations

# Select columns
open data.json | select name email

# Filter rows
open data.json | where age > 18
open data.json | where status == "active"
open data.json | where name =~ "^A"  # regex match

# Sort
open data.json | sort-by name
open data.json | sort-by age --reverse

# Limit results
open data.json | first 10
open data.json | last 5
open data.json | skip 2 | first 3

Transformations

# Add/update columns
open data.json | insert full_name {|row| $"($row.first) ($row.last)"}
open data.json | update name {|row| $row.name | str upcase}
open data.json | upsert status "active"

# Rename columns
open data.json | rename old_name new_name

# Remove columns
open data.json | reject password secret_key

# Transpose (pivot)
open data.json | transpose key value

Aggregations

# Group by
open data.json | group-by category

# Group with aggregation
open data.json | group-by --to-table category | update items {|row| $row.items | length}

# Math operations
open data.json | get prices | math sum
open data.json | get scores | math avg
open data.json | get values | math max
open data.json | get values | math min

# Count
open data.json | length
open data.json | where active | length

Iteration with each

# Transform each row
open data.json | each {|row| $"($row.name): ($row.value)"}

# Parallel processing
open data.json | par-each {|row| expensive_operation $row}

# With index
open data.json | enumerate | each {|item| $"($item.index): ($item.item.name)"}

Reduce Operations

# Sum values
[1 2 3 4 5] | reduce {|it, acc| $acc + $it}

# Build string
["a" "b" "c"] | reduce {|it, acc| $"($acc),($it)"}

# With initial value
open data.json | get prices | reduce --fold 0 {|it, acc| $acc + $it}

Merging Data

# Merge records
{a: 1} | merge {b: 2}

# Deep merge (nested structures)
{a: {foo: 1}} | merge deep {a: {bar: 2}}

# Append to list
[1 2 3] | append [4 5 6]

Real-World Examples

Compare Manifest Versions

# Cross-reference versions between files
open .release-please-manifest.json
| transpose plugin manifest_ver
| each {|row|
    let pjson = $"($row.plugin)/.claude-plugin/plugin.json"
    let pjson_ver = if ($pjson | path exists) {
        (open $pjson).version? | default "NOT SET"
    } else {
        "MISSING"
    }
    let status = if $row.manifest_ver == $pjson_ver { "OK" } else { "MISMATCH" }
    {plugin: $row.plugin, manifest: $row.manifest_ver, plugin_json: $pjson_ver, status: $status}
}
| sort-by plugin

Process API Response

# GitHub API - list repos with stats
http get "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/repos"
| select name stargazers_count forks_count
| sort-by stargazers_count --reverse
| first 10

Analyze Package Dependencies

# List all dependencies with versions
open package.json
| get dependencies
| transpose name version
| sort-by name

Aggregate Log Data

# Count errors by type
open logs.json
| where level == "error"
| group-by --to-table error_type
| update items {|row| $row.items | length}
| rename error_type count
| sort-by count --reverse

Multi-File Analysis

# Find all package.json files and extract versions
glob "**/package.json"
| each {|f| {file: $f, version: (open $f | get version? | default "none")}}
| sort-by file

CSV Processing

# Read CSV with headers
open data.csv
| where amount > 100
| select date description amount
| sort-by date

# Write CSV
open data.json | to csv | save output.csv

Agentic Optimizations

Context	Command
Compact JSON	nu -c 'open data.json | to json -r'
Quick filter	nu -c 'open data.json | where status == "active" | length'
Version check	nu -c 'open package.json | get version'
Format convert	nu -c 'open config.yaml | to json'
One-liner	nu -c '<command>'

Quick Reference

Common Flags

Flag	Description
-c	Execute command string
-r	Raw output (no formatting)
--reverse	Reverse sort order
--to-table	Output as table (group-by)

Type Conversions

From	To	Command
String	Int	"42" | into int
String	Float	"3.14" | into float
Int	String	42 | into string
List	Table	[[a b]; [1 2] [3 4]]

String Operations

"hello" | str upcase           # HELLO
"HELLO" | str downcase         # hello
"  trim  " | str trim          # trim
"hello world" | split row " "  # [hello, world]
["a" "b"] | str join ","       # a,b
"hello" | str contains "ell"   # true
"hello" | str replace "l" "L"  # heLLo

Path Operations

"/path/to/file.txt" | path basename    # file.txt
"/path/to/file.txt" | path dirname     # /path/to
"/path/to/file.txt" | path extension   # txt
"relative/path" | path expand          # /absolute/path
"/some/path" | path exists             # true/false

When to Use Nushell vs jq/yq

Use Case	Tool
Simple JSON field extraction	jq (faster startup)
Simple YAML field extraction	yq (faster startup)
Complex multi-step transforms	nushell
Multi-format processing	nushell
Visual data exploration	nushell
Cross-file operations	nushell
Aggregations/grouping	nushell

Installation

# macOS
brew install nushell

# Verify
nu --version

Resources

• Official Book: https://www.nushell.sh/book/
• Command Reference: https://www.nushell.sh/commands/
• Cookbook: https://www.nushell.sh/cookbook/