A command-line tool for editing JSON files in-place using HTTPie-style syntax.
go install github.com/vampire/je/cmd/je@latestOr build from source:
git clone https://github.com/vampire/je
cd je
go build -o je ./cmd/jeje <file> <assignments...> [options]Edit JSON files using intuitive key=value syntax:
# Simple edits
je config.json port:=3000 host=localhost debug:=true
# Nested paths
je user.json profile.name=gary profile.age:=30
# Arrays
je data.json users.0.active:=false tags[]=newitem
# From files
je config.json ssl.cert@cert.pem settings:@config.json
# Multiple files
je '*.json' --each version=1.2.0
# View changes
je config.json --diff --dry-run port:=8080key=value- Set string valuekey:=value- Set raw JSON (number, boolean, null, array, object)key@file- Set value from file contentskey:@file- Set raw JSON from file
user.name=gary- Nested object accessusers.0.name=gary- Array index accessusers.[].active:=true- Set property on all array elementsconfig.ports[]=8080- Append to arraytags[]="new"- Append string to array
user.age:=null- Set null valueuser.phone=- Set empty stringuser.phone:=- Delete keymetadata:={}- Empty objectitems:=[]- Empty array
-i, --in-place Edit file in place (default)
-o, --output <file> Write to different file
-p, --pretty Pretty print output
-c, --compact Compact output
-r, --raw Output raw values (no JSON encoding)
-e, --each Apply to multiple files independently
-n, --dry-run Show changes without writing
-d, --diff Show diff of changes
-q, --quiet Suppress non-error output
--create Create file if doesn't exist
--merge Merge instead of overwrite arrays/objects
--json5 Parse/write JSON5
# Update server configuration
je server.json host=0.0.0.0 port:=8080 ssl.enabled:=true
# Set nested values
je package.json scripts.test="npm test" scripts.build="npm run build"
# Work with arrays
je data.json users.0.admin:=true users.1.admin:=false# Append to arrays
je config.json servers[]="server3.example.com" ports[]:=8080
# Update all array elements
je users.json 'users.[].status=active' 'users.[].verified:=true'# Load certificate from file
je config.json ssl.cert@/path/to/cert.pem ssl.key@/path/to/key.pem
# Load entire config from file
je app.json database:@db-config.json# Update multiple files
je '*.json' --each version=2.0.0 updated:=true
# Preview changes with diff
je config.json --diff --dry-run port:=3000
# Quiet mode for scripts
je data.json --quiet status=processed# Pipe support
echo '{}' | je - name=test | je - age:=25
# Read from stdin, write to file
cat input.json | je - name=updated > output.json# Escape dots in keys
je file.json 'user\.name=gary'
# Keys with brackets
je file.json 'map["key"]=value'
# Values with spaces
je file.json 'message=Hello World'# Set objects
je config.json 'database:={"host":"localhost","port":5432}'
# Set arrays
je config.json 'tags:=["prod","stable","v1"]'
# Null values
je user.json email:=null- Missing files result in an error unless
--createis used - Invalid JSON causes an error with line number
- Type conflicts (e.g., indexing a string as array) result in clear error messages
- File permissions are preserved during in-place edits
- Atomic writes ensure data safety (temp file + rename)
- Optimized for files under 100MB
- Memory usage approximately 2x file size
- Sub-50ms operations for typical config files
MIT