jq vs yq

jq is a free command-line processor for selecting and transforming JSON data. A jq filter takes an input and produces output; filters can be combined to access nested attributes, construct objects, gather results into arrays, or make other transformations. It reads whitespace-separated JSON values and writes serialized results separated by whitespace. Each expression runs on each input value and may produce zero or more outputs. For very large inputs, the --stream option parses incrementally. Output options include compact, raw, ASCII, sorted-key, and colored forms. Written in portable C, jq has no runtime dependencies, and a standalone binary can be copied to another machine of the same type. Standalone executables are available for Linux, macOS, and Windows, with packages listed for Linux distributions and package managers including Homebrew, MacPorts, winget, Scoop, and Chocolatey. A Docker image is also available. Release binaries have SHA-256 checksums, and signed release artifacts use jq release keys. The code is licensed under MIT; the documentation uses CC-BY-3.0.

yq has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.