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Windows Linux PowerShell Equivalents Text Processing

Windows PowerShell ConvertFrom-Json equivalent in Linux

Parses JSON and selects fields, array elements or transformed output.

Windows PowerShell ConvertFrom-Json
→
Linux equivalents
Debian/Ubuntu same command
jq EXPRESSION file.json
Fedora same command
jq EXPRESSION file.json
Arch same command
jq EXPRESSION file.json

Overview

What this command does

Parses JSON and selects fields, array elements or transformed output.

Migration tip: jq is a dedicated JSON processor. Use -r when you want raw strings without JSON quotation marks.

Practical tasks

Common use cases

Read and query JSON

Parses JSON and selects fields, array elements or transformed output.

jq . data.json

Pretty-print JSON

jq -r ".name" data.json

Extract one string field

jq ".items[] | select(.enabled == true)" data.json

Filter array objects

Ready to run

Copyable Linux commands

Review paths, device names, package names and permissions before running any command.

jq . data.json
jq -r ".name" data.json
jq ".items[] | select(.enabled == true)" data.json

Walkthrough

Examples with explanations

jq . data.json # format and validate JSON
jq -r ".name" data.json # extract one field
jq ".items[] | select(.enabled == true)" data.json # filter JSON objects

Reference

Common options and variations

Command or optionUse
jq . data.jsonPretty-print JSON
jq -r ".name" data.jsonExtract one string field
jq ".items[] | select(.enabled == true)" data.jsonFilter array objects

Distro differences

Debian/Ubuntu vs Fedora vs Arch

This command is the same on Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora and Arch Linux when the relevant tool is installed.

DistributionPackage manager / baseEquivalent commandDifference to notice
Debian/Ubuntu same command jq EXPRESSION file.json Same command on this distribution.
Fedora same command jq EXPRESSION file.json Same command on this distribution.
Arch same command jq EXPRESSION file.json Same command on this distribution.

Keep learning

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