json-files

JSON Files Skill (jq)

Prerequisite: Check Tool Installed

jq --version

If jq is not installed, this skill cannot be used effectively. Recommend installing it with Homebrew first (brew install jq) when available, then rerun the task.

Quick Route

• Use this skill: read keys from JSON, validate JSON, patch JSON deterministically.
• Prefer other skills: YAML edits (yaml-files), Markdown/prose edits (markdown-files).
• Default when ambiguous: if file extension is .json, route here.

Fast Path Commands

# Validate
jq -e . path/to/file.json >/dev/null

# Read a path
jq -r '.scripts.test' package.json

# Write safely
jq '.version = "1.2.3"' package.json > package.json.tmp && mv package.json.tmp package.json

Failure Handling

• Use jq -e when command success depends on filter truthiness.
• Fail fast on parse errors; do not continue partial writes.