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.TH "ijq" "1" "2026\-07\-23"
.PP
.SH NAME
.PP
ijq \- interactive jq
.PP
.SH SYNOPSIS
.PP
\fBijq\fR [\fB\-cnsrjaRMCSV\fR] [\fB\-f\fR \fIfile\fR] [\fIfilter\fR] [\fIfiles .\&.\&.\&\fR]
.PP
.SH DESCRIPTION
.PP
\fBijq\fR is a near drop\-in replacement for \fBjq\fR that allows you to interactively
see the results of your filter as you construct it.\&
.PP
\fBijq\fR contains two panes and an input field: the left pane is the original,
unmodified input data and the right pane contains the filtered output.\& When you
are finished, press Return to exit.\& The filtered output will be written to
standard output and the filter itself will be written to standard error.\&
.PP
\fBijq\fR maintains a history of used filters unless disabled via
\fBhistory\-file\fR in the config file.\& Delete all text in the filter field to
browse any available history.\&
.PP
If \fIfiles\fR is omitted then \fBijq\fR reads data from standard input.\&
.PP
An interactive menu is available with the \fBtoggle\-menu\fR action (default:
\fBCtrl\-/\fR, \fBCtrl\-?\&\fR, or \fBCtrl\-_\fR).\&
.PP
All of the options mirror their counterparts in \fBjq\fR.\& The options are:
.PP
\fB\-c\fR
.RS 4
Use compact instead of pretty\-printed output.\&
.PP
.RE
\fB\-n\fR
.RS 4
Don'\&t read any input.\& Useful for using \fBijq\fR as a calculator or to
construct JSON data from scratch.\&
.PP
.RE
\fB\-s\fR
.RS 4
Read all input into a single array and apply the given filter to it.\&
.PP
.RE
\fB\-r\fR
.RS 4
If the filter output is a string it will be written directly to standard
output rather than being formatted as a JSON string with quotes.\& Useful
for using \fBijq\fR in a pipeline with other programs that expect normal
string input.\&
.PP
.RE
\fB\-j\fR
.RS 4
Implies \fB\-r\fR and outputs without a trailing newline after each result.\&
.PP
.RE
\fB\-a\fR
.RS 4
Output strings by using only ASCII characters and escape sequences.\&
.PP
.RE
\fB\-R\fR
.RS 4
Don'\&t parse the input as JSON, instead passing each line of input to the
filter as a string.\& If combined with \fB\-s\fR then the entire input is
passed to the filter as a single long string.\&
.PP
.RE
\fB\-M\fR
.RS 4
Disable colored output.\&
.PP
.RE
\fB\-C\fR
.RS 4
Force colored output.\&
.PP
.RE
\fB\-S\fR
.RS 4
Output the fields of each object with the fields in sorted order.\&
.PP
.RE
\fB\-f\fR \fIfile\fR
.RS 4
Read the filter from \fIfile\fR.\& When this option is used, all positional
arguments (if any) are interpreted as input files.\&
.PP
.RE
.SH CONFIG FILE
.PP
\fBijq\fR reads configuration from \fI$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/ijq/config\fR.\& If
\fI$XDG_CONFIG_HOME\fR is not set, then the fallback path is
\fI\(ti/.\&config/ijq/config\fR.\&
.PP
The file format is \fBscfg\fR.\& All settings are optional.\& If a setting is present
both in the config file and on the command line, the command\-line value takes
precedence.\&
.PP
\fBhistory\-file\fR \fIfile\fR
.RS 4
Path to the history file.\& If set to '\&'\& then history is disabled.\&
.PP
.RE
\fBjq\-bin\fR \fIfile\fR
.RS 4
Name of or path to the \fBjq\fR binary to use.\&
.PP
.RE
\fBhide\-input\-pane\fR \fIbool\fR
.RS 4
If true, start with the input (left) viewing pane hidden.\&
.PP
.RE
\fBcopy\-filter\-to\-clipboard\-on\-exit\fR \fIbool\fR
.RS 4
If true, copy the current filter to the clipboard when exiting with the
\fBsubmit\-filter\fR action (default: \fBReturn\fR).\& The filter is copied before
the output is written to stdout, so it is copied even if writing the output
subsequently fails.\& Exiting with \fBCtrl\-C\fR never writes to the clipboard.\&
.PP
.RE
\fBkeymaps\fR
.RS 4
Section containing key bindings.\& Any entry not set keeps its built\-in
default value.\&
.PP
Bindings are written as key names (\fBCtrl+N\fR, \fBShift+Up\fR, \fBReturn\fR) or
single runes (\fBu\fR, \fBG\fR).\& \fI+\fR and \fI\-\fR can both be used between modifiers
and key names, for example \fBCtrl+N\fR and \fBCtrl\-N\fR.\&
.PP
When the filter input field has focus, printable runes are always treated
as text input.\& To bind a global command while editing the filter, use a
non\-printable key or a modifier combination.\&
.PP
Available entries are: \fBsubmit\-filter\fR, \fBmove\-down\fR, \fBmove\-up\fR,
\fBpage\-down\fR, \fBpage\-up\fR, \fBscroll\-to\-top\fR, \fBscroll\-to\-bottom\fR,
\fBhalf\-page\-up\fR, \fBhalf\-page\-down\fR, \fBline\-start\fR, \fBline\-end\fR,
\fBcursor\-right\fR, \fBcursor\-left\fR, \fBfocus\-input\-pane\fR, \fBfocus\-output\-pane\fR,
\fBfocus\-filter\-input\fR, \fBnext\-focus\fR, \fBprevious\-focus\fR,
\fBtoggle\-input\-pane\fR, \fBsave\-filter\-history\fR, \fBnext\-autocomplete\fR,
\fBprevious\-autocomplete\fR, \fBtoggle\-menu\fR, \fBcopy\-filter\-to\-clipboard\fR,
\fBcopy\-output\-to\-clipboard\fR.\&
.PP
.RE
.SH KEY BINDINGS
.PP
These are the default key bindings.\& They can be overridden in the \fBkeymaps\fR
section of the config file.\&
.PP
\fBShift + Up\fR, \fBShift + Left\fR
.RS 4
Focus the input (left) viewing pane (\fBfocus\-input\-pane\fR).\&
.PP
.RE
\fBShift + Right\fR
.RS 4
Focus the output (right) viewing pane (\fBfocus\-output\-pane\fR).\&
.PP
.RE
\fBShift + Down\fR
.RS 4
Focus the text (filter) input field (\fBfocus\-filter\-input\fR).\&
.PP
.RE
\fBTab\fR
.RS 4
When the text (filter) input field has focus, trigger autocompletion or
navigate between the autocompletion list (\fBnext\-autocomplete\fR).\& When one
of the viewing panes has focus, toggle between the different views
(\fBnext\-focus\fR).\&
.PP
.RE
\fBShift\-Tab\fR
.RS 4
Like \fBTab\fR, but moves in the opposite direction
(\fBprevious\-autocomplete\fR, \fBprevious\-focus\fR).\&
.PP
.RE
\fBCtrl\-A\fR
.RS 4
When the text input field has focus, move the cursor to the beginning of
the input.\& When one of the viewing panes has focus, set the column
offset to 0 (\fBline\-start\fR).\&
.PP
.RE
\fBCtrl\-E\fR
.RS 4
When the text input field has focus, move the cursor to the end of the
input.\& When one of the viewing panes has focus, set the column offset to
view the longest visible line (\fBline\-end\fR).\&
.PP
.RE
\fBCtrl\-F\fR
.RS 4
When the text input field has focus, move the cursor one character
forward (\fBcursor\-right\fR).\& When one of the viewing panes has
focus, scroll down one page (\fBpage\-down\fR).\&
.PP
.RE
\fBCtrl\-B\fR
.RS 4
When the text input field has focus, move the cursor one character
backward (\fBcursor\-left\fR).\& When one of the viewing panes has
focus, scroll up one page (\fBpage\-up\fR).\&
.PP
.RE
\fBCtrl\-D\fR
.RS 4
When the text input field has focus, delete the character under the
cursor.\& When one of the viewing panes has focus, scroll down one half
page (\fBhalf\-page\-down\fR).\&
.PP
.RE
\fBCtrl\-U\fR
.RS 4
When the text input field has focus, delete all of the text from the
cursor to the beginning of the field.\& When one of the viewing panes has
focus, scroll up one half page (\fBhalf\-page\-up\fR).\&
.PP
.RE
\fBCtrl\-O\fR
.RS 4
Toggle visibility of the input (left) viewing pane
(\fBtoggle\-input\-pane\fR).\&
.PP
.RE
\fBCtrl\-S\fR
.RS 4
Save the current filter to history and show a confirmation popup
(\fBsave\-filter\-history\fR).\&
.PP
.RE
\fBCtrl\-/\fR, \fBCtrl\-?\&\fR, \fBCtrl\-_\fR
.RS 4
Open or close the overlay menu (\fBtoggle\-menu\fR).\&
.PP
.RE
\fBSpace\fR
.RS 4
When the overlay root menu is open, activate the selected menu entry.\&
When the Configure subview is open, toggle the selected option.\&
.PP
.RE
\fBEnter\fR, \fBReturn\fR
.RS 4
When the Configure subview is open, toggle the selected option.\&
When the Manage history subview is open, apply the selected history
entry to the filter and close the overlay (\fBsubmit\-filter\fR).\&
.PP
.RE
\fBx\fR
.RS 4
When the Manage history subview is open, delete the selected history
entry after confirmation.\&
.PP
.RE
\fB/\fR
.RS 4
When the Manage history subview is open, open a filter input for
history entries.\&
.PP
.RE
\fBEsc\fR, \fBCtrl\-C\fR, \fBq\fR
.RS 4
When overlay is open, go back to the root menu or close overlay.\&
.PP
.RE
\fBu\fR, \fBd\fR, \fBf\fR, \fBb\fR
.RS 4
When one of the viewing panes has focus, scroll a half/full page
up/down.\&
.PP
.RE
\fBg\fR
.RS 4
When one of the viewing panes has focus, scroll to the top
(\fBscroll\-to\-top\fR).\&
.PP
.RE
\fBG\fR
.RS 4
When one of the viewing panes has focus, scroll to the bottom
(\fBscroll\-to\-bottom\fR).\&
.PP
.RE
\fBLeft\fR, \fBDown\fR, \fBUp\fR, \fBRight\fR
\fBh\fR, \fBj\fR, \fBk\fR, \fBl\fR
.RS 4
When one of the viewing panes has focus, move the view
left/down/up/right.\&
.PP
.RE
\fBReturn\fR
.RS 4
Close \fBijq\fR.\& Write the contents of the output pane to stdout and the
current input filter to stderr.\& The current input filter is also saved
to the history file.\&
.PP
.RE
\fBCtrl\-C\fR
.RS 4
When overlay is open, close overlay.\& When the filter input is focused
and non\-empty, clear the filter input.\& Otherwise, exit \fBijq\fR immediately
without writing anything to stdout or stderr.\&
.PP
.RE
.SH DEMO
.PP
See https://asciinema.\&org/a/496932 for a demo.\&
.PP
.SH SEE ALSO
.PP
jq(1)
.PP
.SH AUTHOR
.PP
Gregory Anders <greg@gpanders.\&com>