jc(1)

📦

version 1.26.2 · 10 versions

🌸 NAME 🌸

Bestie, meet jc(1), aka JSON Convert — the icon that JSONifies the output of many CLI tools, file-types, and strings. 🫶

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

Standard syntax:

COMMAND | jc [SLICE] [OPTIONS] PARSER

cat FILE | jc [SLICE] [OPTIONS] PARSER

echo STRING | jc [SLICE] [OPTIONS] PARSER

Magic syntax:

jc [SLICE] [OPTIONS] COMMAND

jc [SLICE] [OPTIONS] /proc/<path-to-procfile>

💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

Okay so jc JSONifies the output of many CLI tools, file-types, and common strings so your scripts can parse it way easier. It accepts piped input from STDIN and outputs a JSON representation of the previous command's output to STDOUT. 🦋

You can also use the "Magic" syntax by prepending jc to the command you want converted. Options can be passed to jc immediately before the command is given. ✨

Note: "Magic" syntax does not support shell builtins or command aliases. 💀

👑 OPTIONS 👑

🧚 Parsers 🧚

--acpi — the acpi command parser ✨
--airport — the airport -I command parser ✈️
--airport-s — the airport -s command parser ✈️
--amixer — the amixer command parser 🎚️
--apachectl — the apachectl -S command parser 🪶
--apt-cache-show — the apt-cache show command parser 📦
--apt-get-sqq — the apt-get -sqq command parser 📦
--arp — the arp command parser 🕸️
--asciitable — the ASCII and Unicode table parser 🌈
--asciitable-m — the multi-line ASCII and Unicode table parser 🌈
--authorized-keys — the ~/.ssh/authorized_keys file parser 🔐
--blkid — the blkid command parser 💽
--bluetoothctl — the bluetoothctl command parser 🦷
--cbt — the cbt (Google Bigtable) command parser ☁️
--cef — the CEF string parser 🧵
--cef-s — the CEF string streaming parser 🌊
--certbot — the certbot command parser 🔒
--chage — the chage --list command parser ⏳
--cksum — the cksum and sum command parser 🧮
--clf — the Common and Combined Log Format file parser 📜
--clf-s — the Common and Combined Log Format file streaming parser 🌊
--conntrack — the conntrack command parser 🔎
--crontab — the crontab command and file parser 🕰️
--crontab-u — the crontab file parser with user support 👤
--csv — the CSV file parser 🧾
--csv-ih — the CSV implicit header file parser 🧾
--csv-s — the CSV file streaming parser 🌊
--csv-ih-s — the CSV implicit header file streaming parser 🌊
--curl-head — the curl --head command parser 🌀
--date — the date command parser 📅
--datetime-iso — the ISO 8601 Datetime string parser 🕰️
--debconf-show — the debconf-show command parser 🐧
--df — the df command parser 💾
--dig — the dig command parser 🔍
--dir — the dir command parser 📁
--dmidecode — the dmidecode command parser 🧬
--dpkg-l — the dpkg -l command parser 📦
--du — the du command parser 📏
--efibootmgr — the efibootmgr command parser 🥾
--email-address — the Email Address string parser 📧
--env — the env command parser 🌱
--ethtool — the ethtool command parser 🛰️
--file — the file command parser 📂
--find — the find command parser 🔭
--findmnt — the findmnt command parser 🗻
--finger — the finger command parser 👆
--free — the free command parser 🆓
--fstab — the /etc/fstab file parser 🗂️
--getfacl — the getfacl command parser 🔑
--git-diff — the git diff --name-status command parser 🧑‍💻
--git-log — the git log command parser 📜
--git-log-s — the git log command streaming parser 🌊
--git-ls-remote — the git ls-remote command parser 🌐
--gpg — the gpg --with-colons command parser 🔐
--group — the /etc/group file parser 👥
--gshadow — the /etc/gshadow file parser 🕶️
--hash — the hash command parser #️⃣
--hashsum — the hashsum command parser (md5sum, shasum, etc.) 🧮
--hciconfig — the hciconfig command parser 🦷
--history — the history command parser 🕰️
--host — the host command parser 🏠
--hosts — the /etc/hosts file parser 🏠
--http-headers — the HTTP headers parser 📨
--ics — the ics file parser 📅
--id — the id command parser 🆔
--ifconfig — the ifconfig command parser 🌐
--iftop — the iftop command parser 📈
--ini — the INI file parser 🗂️
--ini-dup — the INI with duplicate key file parser 🗂️
--iostat — the iostat command parser 📊
--iostat-s — the iostat command streaming parser 🌊
--ip-address — the IPv4 and IPv6 Address string parser 🌍
--ipconfig — the ipconfig Windows command parser 🪟
--iptables — the iptables command parser 🔥
--ip-route — the ip route command parser 🛣️
--iw-scan — the iw dev [device] scan command parser 📡
--iwconfig — the iwconfig command parser 📡
--jar-manifest — the Java MANIFEST.MF file parser ☕
--jobs — the jobs command parser 🧑‍💼
--jwt — the JWT string parser 🪙
--kv — the Key/Value file and string parser 🗝️
--kv-dup — the Key/Value with duplicate key file and string parser 🗝️
--last — the last and lastb command parser 🕰️
--ldd — the ldd command parser 🧩
--ls — the ls command parser 📁
--ls-s — the ls command streaming parser 🌊
--lsattr — the lsattr command parser 🏷️
--lsb-release — the lsb_release command parser 🐧
--lsblk — the lsblk command parser 💽
--lsmod — the lsmod command parser 🧩
--lsof — the lsof command parser 📂
--lspci — the lspci -mmv command parser 🖥️
--lsusb — the lsusb command parser 🔌
--m3u — the M3U and M3U8 file parser 🎵
--mdadm — the mdadm command parser 💾
--mount — the mount command parser 🗻
--mpstat — the mpstat command parser 📊
--mpstat-s — the mpstat command streaming parser 🌊
--needrestart — the needrestart -b command parser 🔄
--netrc — the .netrc file parser 🕸️
--netstat — the netstat command parser 🌐
--net-localgroup — the net localgroup command parser 🪟
--net-user — the net user command parser 🪟
--nfsiostat — the nfsiostat command parser 📊
--nfsiostat-s — the nfsiostat command streaming parser 🌊
--nftables — the nft command parser 🔥
--nmcli — the nmcli command parser 📶
--nsd-control — the nsd-control command parser 🛰️
--ntpq — the ntpq -p command parser 🕰️
--openvpn — the openvpn-status.log file parser 🛡️
--os-prober — the os-prober command parser 🐧
--os-release — the /etc/os-release file parser 🐧
--pacman — the pacman command parser 🟦
--passwd — the /etc/passwd file parser 🔑
--path — the POSIX path string parser 🛤️
--path-list — the POSIX path list string parser 🛤️
--pci-ids — the pci.ids file parser 🖥️
--pgpass — the PostgreSQL password file parser 🐘
--pidstat — the pidstat -H command parser 📊
--pidstat-s — the pidstat -H command streaming parser 🌊
--ping — the ping and ping6 command parser 📡
--ping-s — the ping and ping6 command streaming parser 🌊
--pip-list — the pip list command parser 🐍
--pip-show — the pip show command parser 🐍
--pkg-index-apk — the Alpine Linux Package Index file parser 🏔️
--pkg-index-deb — the Debian Package Index file parser 🌀
--plist — the PLIST file parser 🍎
--postconf — the postconf -M command parser 📬
--proc — the /proc/ file parser 🗄️
--proc-buddyinfo — the /proc/buddyinfo file parser 🧠
--proc-cmdline — the /proc/cmdline file parser ⌨️
--proc-consoles — the /proc/consoles file parser 🖥️
--proc-cpuinfo — the /proc/cpuinfo file parser 🧠
--proc-crypto — the /proc/crypto file parser 🔐
--proc-devices — the /proc/devices file parser 🧩
--proc-diskstats — the /proc/diskstats file parser 📊
--proc-filesystems — the /proc/filesystems file parser 🗂️
--proc-interrupts — the /proc/interrupts file parser ⚡
--proc-iomem — the /proc/iomem file parser 🧠
--proc-ioports — the /proc/ioports file parser 🔌
--proc-loadavg — the /proc/loadavg file parser ⚖️
--proc-locks — the /proc/locks file parser 🔒
--proc-meminfo — the /proc/meminfo file parser 🧠
--proc-modules — the /proc/modules file parser 🧩
--proc-mtrr — the /proc/mtrr file parser 🧠
--proc-pagetypeinfo — the /proc/pagetypeinfo file parser 📄
--proc-partitions — the /proc/partitions file parser 💽
--proc-slabinfo — the /proc/slabinfo file parser 🧱
--proc-softirqs — the /proc/softirqs file parser ⚡
--proc-stat — the /proc/stat file parser 📊
--proc-swaps — the /proc/swaps file parser 🔄
--proc-uptime — the /proc/uptime file parser ⏱️
--proc-version — the /proc/version file parser 🏷️
--proc-vmallocinfo — the /proc/vmallocinfo file parser 🧠
--proc-vmstat — the /proc/vmstat file parser 📊
--proc-zoneinfo — /proc/zoneinfo file parser — the zone info one, parsed and cute 🫶
--proc-driver-rtc — /proc/driver/rtc file parser — real-time clock content, iconically converted ⏰
--proc-net-arp — /proc/net/arp file parser — that ARP table glow ✨
--proc-net-dev — /proc/net/dev file parser — interface stats, served fresh
--proc-net-dev-mcast — /proc/net/dev_mcast file parser — multicast, bestie 🦋
--proc-net-if-inet6 — /proc/net/if_inet6 file parser — IPv6 interfaces, slay
--proc-net-igmp — /proc/net/igmp file parser — IGMP but make it structured 💅
--proc-net-igmp6 — /proc/net/igmp6 file parser — the v6 sibling, equally iconic
--proc-net-ipv6-route — /proc/net/ipv6_route file parser — routing table, but v6 🌈
--proc-net-netlink — /proc/net/netlink file parser — netlink sockets, no cap
--proc-net-netstat — /proc/net/netstat file parser — netstat stats, parsed 🎀
--proc-net-packet — /proc/net/packet file parser — packet sockets, gorgeous
--proc-net-protocols — /proc/net/protocols file parser — every protocol, listed
--proc-net-route — /proc/net/route file parser — the classic route table, main character energy 👑
--proc-net-tcp — parses /proc/net/tcp and /proc/net/tcp6, both of them, together, we love a combo 💖
--proc-net-udp — same deal for /proc/net/udp and /proc/net/udp6 🫶
--proc-net-unix — /proc/net/unix file parser — unix sockets, periodt
--proc-pid-fdinfo — /proc/<pid>/fdinfo/<fd> file parser — yep, that exact path, with the <pid> and the <fd> 🧚
--proc-pid-io — /proc/<pid>/io file parser — per-process I/O, obsessed
--proc-pid-maps — /proc/<pid>/maps file parser — memory maps, structured
--proc-pid-mountinfo — /proc/<pid>/mountinfo file parser — mount info, immaculate
--proc-pid-numa-maps — /proc/<pid>/numa_maps file parser — NUMA maps, as one does
--proc-pid-smaps — /proc/<pid>/smaps file parser — the detailed one, ate
--proc-pid-stat — /proc/<pid>/stat file parser — process stats, lowkey essential
--proc-pid-statm — /proc/<pid>/statm file parser — the short one, highkey handy
--proc-pid-status — /proc/<pid>/status file parser — status, but readable 🌸
--ps — ps command parser — your process list, but JSON/YAML 💜
--resolve-conf — /etc/resolve.conf file parser — yes, that path exactly 📁
--route — route command parser — classic route output, parsed
--route-print — route print command parser — the Windows flavour 🪟
--rpm-qi — rpm -qi command parser — package info, served 🍓
--rsync — rsync command parser — sync output, structured
--rsync-s — rsync streaming parser — for when it's coming at you live 🌊
--semver — Semantic Version string parser — versions, parsed, slay
--sfdisk — sfdisk command parser — partition table vibes
--shadow — /etc/shadow file parser — handle with care bestie 🙈
--srt — SRT file parser — subtitles, converted ⭐
--ss — ss command parser — socket stats, iconic
--ssh-conf — ssh config file and ssh -G command parser — both, together 🫶
--sshd-conf — sshd config file and sshd -T command parser — same energy, daemon edition
--stat — stat command parser — file stats, parsed
--stat-s — stat streaming parser — live and direct 📡
--swapon — swapon command parser — swap info, gorgeous
--sysctl — sysctl command parser — kernel params, structured
--syslog — Syslog RFC 5424 string parser — yes, RFC 5424 specifically 📜
--syslog-s — Syslog RFC 5424 string streaming parser — 5424, streaming 🌊
--syslog-bsd — Syslog RFC 3164 string parser — the BSD one, 3164, don't mix them up 💀
--syslog-bsd-s — Syslog RFC 3164 string streaming parser — 3164 + streaming
--systemctl — systemctl command parser — unit output, parsed
--systemctl-lj — systemctl list-jobs command parser — jobs, listed and parsed
--systemctl-ls — systemctl list-sockets command parser — sockets, same deal
--systemctl-luf — systemctl list-unit-files command parser — unit files, immaculate
--systeminfo — systeminfo command parser — the Windows system info one 🪟
--time — /usr/bin/time command parser — that exact binary path, timed ⏱️
--timedatectl — timedatectl status command parser — time + date, parsed
--timestamp — Unix Epoch Timestamp string parser — epochs, converted 🔥
--toml — TOML file parser — TOML girlies rise 🎀
--top — top -b command parser — batch mode top, parsed
--top-s — top -b command streaming parser — batch mode, live 🌊
--tracepath — tracepath and tracepath6 command parser — both of them 🛰️
--traceroute — traceroute and traceroute6 command parser — both, again 🫶
--traceroute-s — traceroute and traceroute6 command streaming parser — both, streaming
--tsv — TSV file parser — tabs, parsed
--tsv-ih — TSV implicit header file parser — no header row, we figure it out 💅
--tsv-s — TSV file streaming parser — tabs, streaming
--tsv-ih-s — TSV implicit header file streaming parser — all four modifiers at once, she's everything 👑
--tune2fs — tune2fs -l command parser — that listing flag specifically
--typeset — typeset and declare command parser — both shell builtins 🐚
--udevadm — udevadm info command parser — device info, parsed
--ufw — ufw status command parser — firewall status, structured 🔥
--ufw-appinfo — ufw app info [application] command parser — note the [application] placeholder, it's a real arg 🫶
--uname — uname -a command parser — the -a, all of it
--update-alt-gs — update-alternatives --get-selections command parser — long flag, exact
--update-alt-q — update-alternatives --query command parser — the query one
--upower — upower command parser — power info, parsed 🔋
--upsc — upsc command parser — UPS status, served
--uptime — uptime command parser — uptime, but structured
--url — URL string parser — links, parsed 🔗
--ver — Version string parser — plain version strings
--veracrypt — veracrypt command parser — encrypted volume vibes 🔐
--vmstat — vmstat command parser — virtual memory stats, parsed
--vmstat-s — vmstat command streaming parser — stats in real time 🌊
--w — w command parser — who's doing what, parsed
--wc — wc command parser — counts, counted ✨
--wg-show — wg show command parser — WireGuard, shown and parsed 🔐
--who — who command parser — logged-in humans, listed
--x509-cert — X.509 PEM and DER certificate file parser — both formats, we don't play 💅
--x509-crl — X.509 PEM and DER certificate revocation list file parser — CRL, both formats
--x509-csr — X.509 PEM and DER certificate request file parser — CSR, both formats
--xml — XML file parser — XML, parsed, sorry about the angle brackets 😭
--xrandr — xrandr command parser — display config, structured 🖥️
--yaml — YAML file parser — YAML in, YAML out, the circle of life 🌀
--zipinfo — zipinfo command parser — zip contents, parsed
--zpool-iostat — zpool iostat command parser — ZFS I/O stats, iconic
--zpool-status — zpool status command parser — pool status, parsed 👑

✨ Options: ✨

okay so these are the general flags — the ones that work with everything, the utility players, the ones you'll actually type 🫶

-a, --about — all about jc, delivered as JSON or YAML, your pick 💖
-C, --force-color — force color output even when you're piping it, and yes it overrides -m and the NO_COLOR env variable. powerful 🌈
-d, --debug — debug mode, shows you the traceback; use -dd if you want the verbose traceback, go off 💀
-h, --help — help! and --help --parser_name gets you that specific parser's docs. Use it twice for hidden parsers (e.g. -hh). Use it thrice for parser categories (e.g. -hhh) — yes, three h's, she contains multitudes 👑
-m, --monochrome — monochrome output, no color, calm vibes
-M, --meta-out — adds metadata to the output — timestamp, parser name, magic command, magic command exit code, etc. the receipts bestie 🧾
-p, --pretty — pretty print the output, make it look good ✨
-q, --quiet — quiet mode, suppresses parser warning messages. Use -qq to also ignore streaming parser errors 🤫
-r, --raw — raw output, more literal — typically string values and no extra semantic processing 🪵
-s, --slurp — slurp multiple lines into an array. use -hhh to find the parsers that support it 🥤
-u, --unbuffer — unbuffer the output, super useful for slow streaming data with streaming parsers 🌊
-v, --version — version info, that's it, that's the flag 🏷️
-y, --yaml-out — YAML output instead of JSON 💜
-B, --bash-comp — generate the Bash shell completion script 🐚
-Z, --zsh-comp — generate the Zsh shell completion script 🐚
-X, --xonsh-comp — generate the Xonsh shell completion script 🐍

✨ Slice: ✨

Line slicing is supported using the START:STOP syntax — literally the same vibe as Python slicing 🐍 and it's so handy. It lets you skip lines at the beginning and/or the end of the STDIN input you want jc to convert 💅

START and STOP can be positive or negative integers, or blank, and they tell jc how many lines to skip and how many lines to process. Positive and blank slices are the most memory efficient. Any negative integers in the slice will use more memory. Lines are counted at LF and CRLF line endings — a lone CR does not start a new line. important!! 🫶

For example, to skip the first and last line of the following text, you could express the slice in a couple of ways:

$ cat table.txt
      ### We want to skip this header ###
          col1       col2
          foo        1
          bar        2
      ### We want to skip this footer ###
$ cat table.txt | jc 1:-1 --asciitable
[{"col1":"foo","col2":"1"},{"col1":"bar","col2":"2"}]
$ cat table.txt | jc 1:4 --asciitable
[{"col1":"foo","col2":"1"},{"col1":"bar","col2":"2"}]

In this example 1:-1 and 1:4 line slices provide the same output. two paths, one slay 💖

When using positive integers the index location of STOP is non-inclusive. Positive slices count from the first line of the input toward the end, starting at 0 as the first line. Negative slices count from the last line toward the beginning, starting at -1 as the last line. This is also exactly the way Python's slicing feature works 🐍✨

Here's the breakdown of line slice options:

START:STOP — lines START through STOP - 1
START: — lines START through the rest of the output
:STOP — lines from the beginning through STOP - 1
-START:STOP — START lines from the end through STOP - 1
START:-STOP — lines START through STOP lines from the end
-START:-STOP — START lines from the end through STOP lines from the end
-START: — START lines from the end through the rest of the output
:-STOP — lines from the beginning through STOP lines from the end
: — all lines 🎀

okay so like — some parsers are just built different and can take multi-item input and spit out an array of results in one single pass. Slurping is that for string parsers that accept a single line of input (e.g. url and ip-address). Wanna know which parsers vibe with the --slurp option? Run jc -hhh and it'll list 'em all, no cap.

So for example you can send a file with multiple IP addresses (one per line) to jc with the --slurp option and out comes an array of results:

$ cat ip-addresses.txt | jc --slurp --ip-address
[<multiple output objects>]

The magic syntax for /proc files? It automatically supports slurping of multiple files — no need to use the --slurp option at all, she's got it handled. So you can convert a whole bunch of PID files at once, like:

$ jc /proc/*/status
[<multiple output objects>]

When the /proc magic syntax is used and multiple files are selected, an additional _file field gets inserted into the output so it's easier to tell what file each output object refers to. genuinely so helpful of her 💅

And finally, the --meta-out option can be used together with slurped output. When you do that, the slurped output gets wrapped in an object with this exact structure:

{
  "result": [<multiple output objects>],
  "_jc_meta": {
    "parser": "url",
    "timestamp": 1706235558.654576,
    "slice_start": null,
    "slice_end": null,
    "input_list": [
      "http://www.google.com",
      "https://www.apple.com",
      "https://www.microsoft.com"
    ]
  }
}

With --meta-out, input_list contains a list of inputs (actual input strings or /proc filenames) so you can identify which output object relates to each input string or /proc filename. iykyk 🫶

💀 EXIT CODES 💀

Any fatal errors within jc will generate an exit code of 100. Otherwise the exit code will be 0. Simple as that bestie.

When you're using the "magic" syntax (e.g. jc ifconfig eth0), jc will store the exit code of the program being parsed and add it to the jc exit code. That way it's way easier to figure out whether an error came from the parsed program or from jc herself.

Consider these examples using ifconfig:

ifconfig exit code = 0, jc exit code = 0, combined exit code = 0
(no errors)

ifconfig exit code = 1, jc exit code = 0, combined exit code = 1
(error in ifconfig)

ifconfig exit code = 0, jc exit code = 100, combined exit code = 100
(error in jc)

ifconfig exit code = 1, jc exit code = 100, combined exit code = 101
(error in both ifconfig and jc)

When using the "magic" syntax you can also retrieve the exit code of the called program by using the --meta-out or -M option. That appends a _jc_meta object to the output which includes the magic command information, including the exit code. ✨

Here's an example with ping:

$ jc --meta-out -p ping -c2 192.168.1.252
{
  "destination_ip": "192.168.1.252",
  "data_bytes": 56,
  "pattern": null,
  "destination": "192.168.1.252",
  "packets_transmitted": 2,
  "packets_received": 0,
  "packet_loss_percent": 100.0,
  "duplicates": 0,
  "responses": [
    {
      "type": "timeout",
      "icmp_seq": 0,
      "duplicate": false
    }
  ],
  "_jc_meta": {
    "parser": "ping",
    "timestamp": 1661357115.27949,
    "magic_command": [
      "ping",
      "-c2",
      "192.168.1.252"
    ],
    "magic_command_exit": 2
  }
}
$ echo $?
2

🌈 ENVIRONMENT 🌈

Custom Colors

You can specify custom colors via the JC_COLORS environment variable 🎨 The JC_COLORS environment variable takes four comma separated string values in this format:

JC_COLORS=<keyname_color>,<keyword_color>,<number_color>,<string_color>

Where the colors are: black, red, green, yellow, blue, magenta, cyan, gray, brightblack, brightred, brightgreen, brightyellow, brightblue, brightmagenta, brightcyan, white, or default.

For example, to set it to the default colors:

JC_COLORS=blue,brightblack,magenta,green

JC_COLORS=default,default,default,default

Disable Color Output

You can set the NO_COLOR environment variable to any value to disable color output in jc 🚫🌈 Just know that using the -C option to force color output will override both the NO_COLOR environment variable and the -m option. she said what she said.

🦋 STREAMING PARSERS 🦋

Most parsers load all of the data from STDIN, parse it, then output the entire JSON document serially. But there are some streaming parsers (e.g. ls-s, ping-s, etc.) that immediately start processing and outputting the data line-by-line as JSON Lines (aka NDJSON) while it's being received from STDIN. This can significantly reduce the amount of memory required to parse large amounts of command output (e.g. ls -lR /) and can sometimes process the data more quickly. Streaming parsers have slightly different behavior than standard parsers, as outlined below 👇

Note: Streaming parsers cannot be used with the "magic" syntax.

Ignoring Errors

You may want to ignore parsing errors when using streaming parsers, since these may be used in long-lived processing pipelines and errors can break the pipe 😭 To ignore parsing errors, use the -qq cli option. This adds a _jc_meta object to the JSON output with a success attribute. If success is true, then there were no issues parsing the line. If success is false, then a parsing issue was found and error and line fields will be added to include a short error description and the contents of the unparsable line, respectively:

Successfully parsed line with -qq option:

{
  "command_data": "data",
  "_jc_meta": {
    "success": true
  }
}

Unsuccessfully parsed line with -qq option:

{
  "_jc_meta": {
    "success": false,
    "error": "error message",
    "line": "original line data"
  }
}

Unbuffering Output

Most operating systems will buffer output that is being piped from process to process. The buffer is usually around 4KB. When you're viewing the output in the terminal the OS buffer is not engaged, so output is immediately displayed on the screen. But when piping multiple processes together it may seem as if the output is hanging when the input data is very slow (e.g. ping):

$ ping 1.1.1.1 | jc --ping-s | jq
<slow output>

That's because the OS engages the 4KB buffer between jc and jq in this example 🙈 To display the data on the terminal in realtime, you can disable the buffer with the -u (unbuffer) cli option:

$ ping 1.1.1.1 | jc --ping-s -u | jq
{"type":"reply","pattern":null,"timestamp":null,"bytes":"64",...}
{"type":"reply","pattern":null,"timestamp":null,"bytes":"64",...}
etc...

Note: Unbuffered output can be slower for large data streams. just so you know 💛

🧚 PARSER PLUGINS 🧚

Parser plugins may be placed in a jc/jcparsers folder in your local "App data directory":

Linux/unix: $HOME/.local/share/jc/jcparsers
macOS: $HOME/Library/Application Support/jc/jcparsers
Windows: $LOCALAPPDATA\jc\jc\jcparsers

Parser plugins are standard python module files 📄 Use the jc/parsers/foo.py or jc/parsers/foo_s.py (streaming) parser as a template and simply place a .py file in the jcparsers subfolder. Any dependencies can be placed in the jc folder above jcparsers and can be imported in the parser code.

Parser plugin filenames must be valid python module names, and therefore must start with a letter and consist entirely of alphanumerics and underscores. Local plugins may override default parsers 👑

Note: The application data directory follows the XDG Base Directory Specification.

🌸 CAVEATS 🌸

Locale

For best results, set the locale environment variables to C or en_US.UTF-8 by modifying the LC_ALL variable:

$ LC_ALL=C date | jc --date

You can also set the locale variables individually:

$ export LANG=C

$ export LC_NUMERIC=C

On some older systems, UTF-8 output will be downgraded to ASCII with \u escape sequences if the C locale does not support UTF-8 encoding. yeah. vintage behaviour 😭

Timezones

Some parsers have calculated epoch timestamp fields added to the output. Unless a timestamp field name has a _utc suffix, it is considered naive (i.e. based on the local timezone of the system the jc parser was run on) 🕰️

If a UTC timezone can be detected in the text of the command output, the timestamp will be timezone aware and have a _utc suffix on the key name (e.g. epoch_utc). No other timezones are supported for aware timestamps.

Line Endings

jc passes input to the parser without translating line endings, whether it comes from STDIN, a "magic" command, or a /proc file. All line-based parsers split lines at LF and CRLF line endings only, so other characters that can appear inside a value, such as a lone CR, form feed, or Unicode line separator, stay part of that line. Parsers for file formats that can use CR-only line endings (csv, hosts, jar-manifest, and m3u) also accept a lone CR as a line ending.

Streaming parsers split STDIN lines the same way (LF and CRLF only). Bytes in STDIN that are not valid UTF-8 are shown as backslash escapes (e.g. \xff) instead of stopping the parser. she's resilient like that 💪

⭐ EXAMPLES ⭐

Standard Syntax:

$ dig www.google.com | jc -p --dig

$ cat /proc/meminfo | jc --pretty --proc

Magic Syntax:

$ jc --pretty dig www.google.com

$ jc --pretty /proc/meminfo

Line Slicing:

$ cat file.csv | jc :101 --csv    # parse first 100 lines

For parser documentation:

$ jc --help --dig

More Help:

$ jc -hh          # show hidden parsers

$ jc -hhh         # list parsers by category tags

👑 AUTHOR 👑

Kelly Brazil (kellyjonbrazil@gmail.com)

https://github.com/kellyjonbrazil/jc

🎀 COPYRIGHT 🎀

License: MIT License

and that's the whole page bestie, you ate that 🍓 mwah 💖 this was jc version 1.26.2, dated 2026-10-29 — now go parse something gorgeous. periodt. 💅✨

📦 where this page comes from

arch rolling: jc 1.26.2-1 · MIT
💖 girlified by deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 on 2026-11-04: a language model's rewrite of the original, under its terms