jid Documentation

Technical Documentation: simeji/jid

ℹ️ Provenance: Multi-Tier Ingestion · CodeWiki Reference

Overview (`README.md`) Copy Section

jid

Json Incremental Digger

It's a very simple tool.
You can drill down JSON interactively by using filtering queries like jq.

Suggestion, Auto completion, and JMESPath support provide a comfortable JSON exploration experience.

Demo Copy Chapter

Drill-down navigation Copy Section

Interactively navigate JSON using dot-path queries. Tab-complete fields, cycle through candidates, and see the matching key highlighted in the JSON view in real time.

JMESPath expressions Copy Section

Use pipes, wildcards, and built-in functions directly in the filter. Function candidates are shown with usage hints and argument templates are filled in automatically.

Installation Copy Chapter

• With HomeBrew (for macOS)
• With MacPorts (for macOS)
• With pkg (for FreeBSD)
• With scoop (for Windows)
• Other package management system
• Simply use "jid" command
• Build

With HomeBrew (for macOS) Copy Section

brew install jid

With MacPorts (for macOS) Copy Section

sudo port install jid

With pkg (for FreeBSD) Copy Section

pkg install jid

With scoop (for Windows) Copy Section

scoop install jid

Other package management systems Copy Section

Jid can install by package management systems of below OS.

Simply use "jid" command Copy Section

If you simply want to use jid command, please download binary from below.

https://github.com/simeji/jid/releases

Build Copy Chapter

go install github.com/simeji/jid/cmd/jid@latest

Usage Copy Chapter

Quick start Copy Section

• simple json example
• simple json example2
• with initial query
• with curl

simple json example

Please execute the below command.

echo '{"aa":"2AA2","bb":{"aaa":[123,"cccc",[1,2]],"c":321}}'| jid

then, jid will be running.

You can dig JSON data incrementally.

When you enter .bb.aaa[2], you will see the following.

[Filter]> .bb.aaa[2]
[
  1,
  2
]

Then, you press Enter key and output [1,2] and exit.

simple json example2

echo '{"info":{"date":"2016-10-23","version":1.0},"users":[{"name":"simeji","uri":"https://github.com/simeji","id":1},{"name":"simeji2","uri":"https://example.com/simeji","id":2},{"name":"simeji3","uri":"https://example.com/simeji3","id":3}],"userCount":3}}'|jid

With a initial query

First argument of jid is initial query.
(Use JSON same as Demo)

with curl

Sample for using RDAP data.

curl -s http://rdg.afilias.info/rdap/domain/example.info | jid

Load JSON from a file

jid < file.json

Keymaps Copy Chapter

Option Copy Section

Configuration Copy Chapter

jid can be configured via a TOML file located at:

Example config.toml Copy Section

[history]
path = "~/.jid_history"  # custom history file path
max_size = 1000           # number of entries to keep

[keybindings]
history_prev    = "up"      # navigate to older query
history_next    = "down"    # navigate to newer query
scroll_down     = "ctrl+j"
scroll_up       = "ctrl+k"
scroll_to_bottom = "ctrl+g"
scroll_to_top   = "ctrl+t"
scroll_page_down = "ctrl+n"
scroll_page_up  = "ctrl+p"
toggle_keymode  = "ctrl+l"
delete_line     = "ctrl+u"
delete_word     = "ctrl+w"
cursor_left     = "ctrl+b"
cursor_right    = "ctrl+f"
cursor_to_start = "ctrl+a"
cursor_to_end   = "ctrl+e"
toggle_func_help = "ctrl+x"
candidate_next  = "tab"       # cycle candidates forward
candidate_prev  = "ctrl+p"    # cycle candidates backward (additional key; Shift+Tab always works)
quit            = "ctrl+q"    # exit jid (used when exit_on_enter = false)

[behavior]
exit_on_enter = true   # set to false to prevent accidental exit on Enter

Note: Shift+Tab (\x1b[Z) is a fixed terminal escape sequence and always triggers backward cycling regardless of candidate_prev.

Preventing accidental exit on Enter Copy Section

By default, pressing Enter exits jid and prints the current result. If you find yourself accidentally exiting, set exit_on_enter = false in config.toml:

[behavior]
exit_on_enter = false

When disabled, Enter only confirms a candidate selection. Use Ctrl+Q (or your configured quit key) to exit.

Supported key strings Copy Section

ctrl+a … ctrl+z, up, down, left, right, tab, enter, esc, backspace, home, end, pgup, pgdn, delete, f1 … f12

Query History Copy Section

Queries are saved automatically on Enter. The history file path follows the same OS convention as the config file (e.g. ~/Library/Application Support/jid/history on macOS) unless overridden in config.toml.

JMESPath Support Copy Chapter

jid supports JMESPath expressions in addition to the traditional dot-path notation.
JMESPath mode is automatically activated when the query contains pipe (|), wildcards ([*]), filter expressions ([?), or function calls.

JMESPath Query Examples Copy Section

.                          traditional: show root JSON
.users                     traditional: navigate to users field
.users[0].name             traditional: array index + field access

.users[*].name             wildcard projection: extract name from every user
.users[*].address.city     nested wildcard projection
.users[*].<Tab>            show field candidates from array elements

. | keys(@)                pipe: list root object keys
.users | length(@)         pipe: count users array
.users | sort_by(@, &name) pipe: sort users by name field
.users | reverse(@)        pipe: reverse the array

.[1] | to_array(@)[0].id   chained pipe with indexing
. | to_array(@)[0]         wrap root in array and index

.users[*].name | [0]       project names then index

Wildcard Projection + Array Index Copy Section

After a wildcard projection like .game_indices[*].version, the result is an array.
Use [N] to navigate into it — jid automatically rewrites to pipe form internally:

.game_indices[*]           → field candidates: game_index, version
.game_indices[*].version   → shows array of version objects; suggests [
.game_indices[*].version[0]           → first version object {name, url}
.game_indices[*].version[0].name      → first version's name
.game_indices[*].version[0] | keys(@) → keys of first version object
.game_indices[*].version[0] | keys(@) | sort(@)  → sorted keys

Note: In standard JMESPath, [*].field[0] applies [0] to each projected
element rather than the projected array, producing []. jid detects this pattern
and transparently rewrites it to [*].field | [0] so [0] indexes the array.

Function Candidates Copy Section

When you type | after a field, jid shows available JMESPath functions filtered by the type of the preceding expression:

A usage description is shown below the candidate list (toggle with Ctrl+X).

Candidate Key Highlighting Copy Section

The matching JSON key is highlighted in yellow and the view auto-scrolls to it in two situations:

• While typing — as soon as the query narrows down to a single candidate (e.g. typing .na when only name matches), the corresponding key is highlighted immediately, before pressing Tab.
• While cycling with Tab / Shift+Tab — the key for each selected candidate is highlighted as you cycle through the list.

In both cases, if the key is outside the visible area the JSON view scrolls to bring it into view. Only the key at the correct nesting level is highlighted — nested keys with the same name are ignored.

Function Argument Templates Copy Section

When a function candidate is confirmed, the arguments are automatically filled in and the cursor is placed at the right position:

Placeholder text is shown in cyan. Typing any character replaces the entire placeholder.

`&field` Candidate Completion

For functions that take a &field argument (sort_by, max_by, min_by, map),
jid automatically shows the available field names from the base array as soon as the
&field template is inserted:

.stats | sort_by(@, &field)   →  field names shown: base_stat  effort  stat
.stats | sort_by(@, &b        →  filtered: base_stat
.stats | sort_by(@, &base_stat)  →  confirmed; expression evaluates normally

• Tab / Shift+Tab cycles through field candidates; cursor stays between & and )
• Typing filters candidates by the partial name after &
• Enter or Tab (when only one candidate) confirms the selection
• Ctrl+W deletes the field name but keeps & (e.g. &base_stat) → &)

Wildcard Projection Navigation Copy Section

After a wildcard expression like .game_indices[*], jid shows the field names of the array elements as candidates:

.game_indices[*]           → candidates: game_index, version
.game_indices[*].<Tab>     → same candidates (trailing dot still shows fields)
.game_indices[*].v<Tab>    → filtered: version
.game_indices[*].version   → shows array result; suggests [ for index navigation
.game_indices[*].version[0] → first version object; candidates: name, url

Ctrl+W in JMESPath Mode Copy Section

Ctrl+W removes one segment at a time from the end of a JMESPath expression:

.[3] | to_array(@)[0].id  →(Ctrl+W)→  .[3] | to_array(@)[0]
.[3] | to_array(@)[0]     →(Ctrl+W)→  .[3] | to_array(@)
.[3] | to_array(@)        →(Ctrl+W)→  .[3] |
.[3] |                    →(Ctrl+W)→  .[3]

Inside a function call, the &field argument is treated as one unit and & is preserved:

.stats | max_by(@, &base_stat)  →(Ctrl+W)→  .stats | max_by(@, &
.stats | max_by(@, &            →(Ctrl+W)→  .stats |

Index (`docs/index.md`) Copy Section

layout: splash
title: "jid — JSON Incremental Digger"
header:
overlay_color: "#1a1a2e"
overlay_filter: "0.6"
actions:
- label: "GitHub"
url: "https://github.com/simeji/jid"
- label: "Download v1.1.3"
url: "https://github.com/simeji/jid/releases/tag/v1.1.3"
excerpt: >
Interactively drill down JSON in your terminal.
JMESPath support, query history, key highlighting, and more.

feature_row:

• title: "JMESPath Support"
  excerpt: "Use wildcards [*], pipes |, and functions like length(@), keys(@), sort_by(@, &field) with type-aware completion."
• title: "Key Highlighting"
  excerpt: "Matching JSON keys highlight in yellow as you type or Tab through candidates. Auto-scrolls to keep the key in view."
• title: "Query History"
  excerpt: "Navigate past queries with Up/Down arrows. History persists across sessions and is configurable via config.toml."

feature_row2:

• title: "Tab Completion"
  excerpt: "Press Tab to cycle through field candidates. Shift+Tab to go backwards. Supports arrays, objects, wildcards, and pipe expressions."
• title: "TOML Config"
  excerpt: "Customize keybindings, history path, and behavior via ~/.config/jid/config.toml. Set exit_on_enter = false to avoid accidental exits."
• title: "Pretty Output"
  excerpt: "Results are pretty-printed with color. Use -M for monochrome, -p for pretty JSON output, -q for query-only mode."

{% include feature_row %}

Demo Copy Chapter

Drill-down Navigation Copy Section

JMESPath Functions Copy Section

With Initial Query Copy Section

Install Copy Chapter

# Homebrew (macOS / Linux)
brew install jid

# Go
go install github.com/simeji/jid/cmd/jid@latest

# Download binary
# https://github.com/simeji/jid/releases

Quick Start Copy Chapter

# Pipe JSON into jid
echo '{"users":[{"name":"alice"},{"name":"bob"}]}' | jid

# Load from file
jid < data.json

# Start with an initial query
jid '.users[0]' < data.json

# Query-only output (for use with jq)
jid -q < data.json

# Pretty-print result
jid -p < data.json

Key Bindings Copy Chapter

Configuration Copy Chapter

Create ~/.config/jid/config.toml (macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/jid/config.toml):

[behavior]
exit_on_enter = false   # prevent accidental exit on Enter

[history]
path = "~/.jid_history"
max_size = 1000

[keybindings]
quit         = "ctrl+q"   # exit key when exit_on_enter = false
candidate_next = "tab"
history_prev = "up"
history_next = "down"
scroll_down  = "ctrl+j"
scroll_up    = "ctrl+k"

{% include feature_row id="feature_row2" %}

View on GitHub
Download v1.1.3

Config.Yml (`docs/_config.yml`) Copy Section

remote_theme: "mmistakes/[email protected]"
plugins:

• jekyll-include-cache
• jekyll-feed

title: "jid"
subtitle: "JSON Incremental Digger"
url: "https://simeji.github.io"
baseurl: "/jid"
logo: "https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/78b0ee4c-2171-4557-b690-50d503f91190"
author:
name: "simeji"
uri: "https://github.com/simeji"
github: "simeji"

minimal_mistakes_skin: "dark"

permalink: /:categories/:title/
paginate: 5

include:

• _pages

defaults:

• scope:
  path: ""
  type: pages
  values:
  layout: single
  author_profile: false

footer:
links:
- label: "GitHub"
icon: "fab fa-fw fa-github"
url: "https://github.com/simeji/jid"

--- METRICS ---

• Files Extracted: 3
• Estimated Token Budget: ~4265 tokens
• Canonical Reference: https://codewiki.google/github.com/simeji/jid