gron
A command-line tool that flattens JSON into discrete assignments so it can be searched with grep.
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2 more ways to get gron
Package managers
- Chocolatey
choco install gron - Homebrew
brew install gron
About gron
gron turns JSON into a list of discrete assignments, one per line, each showing the full path to a value. That makes it easy to find what you need with grep and to see the exact path to it, which helps when exploring unfamiliar API responses.
It can also reverse the process with ungron, turning filtered assignments back into JSON. gron reads from files, standard input or URLs, and is written in Go.
Strengths
- Makes JSON searchable with standard grep
- Shows the full path to every value
- Can convert filtered output back to JSON
Limitations
- Not a full JSON query language like jq
- Output is verbose for large documents
Details
- Pricing
- FreeFree and open source under the MIT licence.
- License
- MIT
- Developer
- Tom Hudson
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line
- How it runs
- Downloadable app
- Account
- Not required
- Works offline
- Yes
- Best suited for
- Exploring unfamiliar JSON and API responses from the terminal
- Categories
- CLI tools, Developer tools
- Last verified
- Added
- Provenance
- Facts checked against the developer's own pages and store listings, 1 sources on file.
Alternatives to gron
Compare allSoftware that can replace gron for an important use case, and what changes if you switch.
jq
The command-line JSON processor: slice, filter, map and transform structured data the way sed and awk handle text.
jq replaces grep over flattened paths with a full JSON query and transformation language, which is more powerful but takes practice to learn.
jid
Explore JSON interactively with query suggestions.
jid explores JSON interactively with query suggestions in the terminal rather than producing greppable assignment lines for pipelines.
fx
Inspect JSON interactively from your terminal.
fx lets you inspect JSON interactively in the terminal instead of flattening it for grep, and runs on Windows, macOS and Linux.
gron as an alternative
Listings that name gron as an alternative.
jqp
A terminal user interface for experimenting with jq queries against JSON interactively.
gron flattens JSON into assignments searchable with grep, instead of an interactive jq query preview, and works on Windows too.
Similar software
Related functionality, not necessarily a direct replacement.
jless
Browse large JSON structures in a keyboard-driven terminal viewer.
gojq
Process JSON with a Go implementation of jq.
jaq
Run jq-style queries through a Rust command-line tool and library.
jc
Convert command output into JSON for easier scripting.
ripgrep
Searches a whole directory tree for a pattern in a fraction of the time grep takes, and skips what gitignore says to skip.
