data-tools

Original：🇺🇸 English
Translated

Use when querying, transforming, or editing structured data (JSON, YAML, TOML, XML, CSV). Prefer these tools over grep/sed/awk on structured formats.

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structured-data-processingjq-toolyq-usagedasel-guideqsv-workflow

SKILL.md Content

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Data Tools Skill

Critical Rule

NEVER use 
grep
, 
sed
, or 
awk
on JSON, YAML, TOML, XML, or CSV data.
These text-processing tools treat structured data as flat text. They break on multi-line values, nested structures, quoted strings containing delimiters, and field reordering. Use the right tool for the format.

Tool Selection Guide

FormatToolNotes
JSONjqOr 
gh --jq
for GitHub CLI output
YAMLyqSame jq-like syntax, in-place editing
TOMLdaselNative TOML support
XMLdaselOr 
xmlstarlet
for XPath
CSV / TSVqsvFast, memory-efficient, purpose-built
Mixed / multipledaselUniversal selector, auto-detects format
Quick decision:
  • One format, one file? Use the format-specific tool (jq/yq/qsv).
  • Multiple formats or TOML/XML? Use dasel.
  • GitHub CLI output? Use 
    gh --jq
    flag directly (never pipe to jq).

Quick Examples

jq -- JSON

bash
jq -r '.version' package.json
jq '.users[] | select(.role == "admin")' users.json
jq '.version = "2.0.0"' pkg.json > pkg.json.tmp && mv pkg.json.tmp pkg.json

yq -- YAML

bash
yq '.services.web.image' docker-compose.yml
yq -i '.jobs.test.strategy.matrix.php-version = ["8.2", "8.3", "8.4"]' .github/workflows/ci.yml

dasel -- TOML / XML / Universal

bash
dasel -f Cargo.toml '.package.version'
dasel put -f config.json -t string -v "localhost" '.database.host'
dasel -f input.json -w yaml

qsv -- CSV / TSV

bash
qsv headers data.csv && qsv stats data.csv --everything | qsv table
qsv search -s status "active" users.csv | qsv select name,email

GitHub CLI -- always use --jq

bash
gh api repos/owner/repo/releases --jq '.[0].tag_name'
gh pr list --json number,title --jq '.[] | "\(.number)\t\(.title)"'

Anti-Patterns

bash
# BAD: grep/sed on JSON (breaks on formatting, nesting, escapes)
grep '"version"' package.json | sed 's/.*: "\(.*\)".*/\1/'
# GOOD:
jq -r '.version' package.json
bash
# BAD: sed on YAML (ignores indentation, multi-line values)
sed -i 's/image: node:.*/image: node:20/' docker-compose.yml
# GOOD:
yq -i '.services.app.image = "node:20"' docker-compose.yml
bash
# BAD: awk on CSV (breaks on quoted fields containing commas)
awk -F',' '{print $2}' data.csv
# GOOD:
qsv select 2 data.csv

References

CookbookContent
jq CookbookExtraction, filtering, transformation, GitHub CLI patterns
yq CookbookYAML editing, GitHub Actions, Docker-Compose, Kubernetes
dasel CookbookTOML/XML editing, format conversion, universal selector
CSV Processingqsv workflows, joins, stats, large file handling
External docs: jq manual | yq docs | dasel docs | qsv docs