jq is a powerful tool that lets you read, filter, and write JSON in bash.

What is jq written in?

jq is written in portable C, and it has zero runtime dependencies. You can download a single binary, scp it to a far away machine of the same type, and expect it to work.

What does jq stand for JSON?

1 Answer. 1. 3. jq (as in jq) is a “JSON query language” and might perhaps therefore have been called “JQL” by analogy with “SQL”, but jq is shorter 🙂 Also note that jq is not only a JSON query language, but completely subsumes JSON: any valid JSON expression is a valid jq expression.