jaq vs jless
jaq
github.comjless
jless.ioSide by side
| Figure | jaq | jless |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 2 | 1 |
| Spec score · JSON Tools | 8.9 (#1) | 8.4 (#7) |
| Installation | Prebuilt binaries are offered for Linux, macOS and Windows, and source installation uses Cargo with a Rust toolchain. | Installation options include Homebrew, MacPorts, Linux package managers, and building from source with Rust. |
| License | The project repository identifies jaq as MIT-licensed. | The project is released under the MIT License. |
| Maker | The GitHub account identifies the maintainer as Michael Färber, a computer-science PhD focused on logic and automated reasoning. | The jless site credits its creator as CodeIsTheEnd. |
| Purpose | jaq is a jq clone focused on correctness, speed, and simplicity. | jless is a command-line viewer for reading, exploring, and searching JSON data. |
Plans
In their own words
jaq
jaq is a free jq clone for querying and transforming data, available as both a command-line replacement and a Rust library for compiling and running jq programs. Alongside JSON, it handles YAML, CBOR, TOML, XML, CSV, and TSV, and can convert between those formats while applying a jq filter. Its jaq-core library supports multithreaded use and data types beyond JSON. jaq also accepts arbitrary values as object keys and can process strings containing arbitrary bytes, including invalid UTF-8. The project publishes benchmarks comparing jaq with jq and gojq, and reports faster results on many benchmarks. It states that jaq is memory-safe and prevents input data or filters from initiating I/O, although filters may read files before execution. The project also warns that it does not guard against resource exhaustion, so processing may use unlimited time, memory, or stack space. Binary downloads and installation instructions are provided for Linux, macOS, and Windows, and an online playground is available. jaq is MIT-licensed.
jless
jless is a free command-line viewer for reading and exploring JSON and YAML on macOS and Linux. It formats JSON with indentation and syntax highlighting, and lets users open or close objects and arrays using vim-inspired commands. Search supports both full-text and regular-expression queries. jless reads files or standard input, including newline-delimited JSON; it can detect YAML from a file extension or read it with the --yaml flag. YAML comments and anchors are not shown. Users can copy values, keys, and paths to the system clipboard, or print them in the terminal, including a jq-style path for the focused node. It does not provide jq querying. Data mode gives a streamlined view, while line mode shows formatted JSON. Installation choices include Homebrew, MacPorts, Linux package managers, Cargo, downloadable binaries, and building from source with Rust. The project is MIT-licensed and available as a standalone binary. Its maker suggests it for exploring external APIs or debugging request payloads.