jq-lite

# jq-lite (jql)

Pipe any JSON into `jql` and extract, filter, or transform with dot-notation queries.

## Quick Start

```bash
echo '{"name":"Alice","age":30}' | jql '.name'
# "Alice"

curl -s https://api.example.com/users | jql '.users[] | select(.active) | .email'
```

## Common Patterns

```bash
# Extract a field
jql '.name' < data.json

# Array index
jql '.users[0].email' < users.json

# Spread array (each element on its own line)
jql '.users[].name' < users.json

# Filter array
jql '.users[] | select(.active == true)' < users.json

# Map: extract one field from each object
jql '.users | map(.name)' < users.json

# Sort and slice
jql '.items | sort_by(.price) | .[0:5]' < items.json

# Count
jql '.users | length' < users.json

# Object keys
jql 'keys' < config.json

# Group and aggregate
jql '.orders | group_by(.status) | map({status: .[0].status, count: length})' < orders.json
```

## Output Formats

```bash
jql '.users'           # pretty-printed JSON with colors
jql -c '.users'        # compact single-line JSON
jql -r '.name'         # raw string (no quotes)
jql --csv '.users'     # CSV with auto-headers
jql --tsv '.users'     # TSV
jql --yaml '.config'   # YAML
jql --no-color '.'     # no ANSI color (for piping to files)
```

## Built-in Functions

| Function | Description |
|---|---|
| `keys` | Sorted array of object keys |
| `values` | Array of object values |
| `length` | Array/string/object size |
| `type` | JSON type as string |
| `has(key)` | Boolean: has property |
| `map(expr)` | Apply to each array element |
| `select(expr)` | Keep if expression is true |
| `sort_by(f)` | Sort by expression |
| `group_by(f)` | Group by expression |
| `unique` | Unique values |
| `flatten` | Flatten nested arrays |
| `to_entries` | `[{key, value}]` from object |
| `from_entries` | Object from `[{key, value}]` |
| `add` | Sum numbers or join strings/arrays |
| `min`, `max` | Array minimum/maximum |
| `first`, `last` | First/last element |
| `test(regex)` | Boolean regex match |
| `ascii_downcase` | Lowercase string |
| `split(s)` | Split string |
| `join(s)` | Join array |

## NDJSON Streaming

```bash
# One JSON object per line: processed independently
cat events.ndjson | jql 'select(.type == "error") | .user'

# --slurp: collect all lines into array
cat events.ndjson | jql -s 'length'
```

## Environment Variables

| Variable | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| `JQL_NO_COLOR` | Disable color (0 or 1) | `0` |
| `JQL_COMPACT` | Always compact (0 or 1) | `0` |
| `JQL_RAW` | Always raw output (0 or 1) | `0` |