# Install jshon with Homebrew

Parse, read, and create JSON from the shell. Version 20131105 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:jshon
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install jshon
```

  Evidence: provider-native install command

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:jshon
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 20131105
- **Source summary:** Parse, read, and create JSON from the shell
- **Homepage:** <https://github.com/keenerd/jshon>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/keenerd/jshon>
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T00:40:33+00:00

## Executables

- jshon (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 20131105
## Project history and usage

jshon is a small Unix command-line JSON tool aimed at shell scripts. Its manual says it parses, reads, and creates JSON while replacing fragile `grep`/`sed`/`awk` parsers and heavier one-line Perl or Python snippets.

### Project history

The public tag series uses date-stamped versions from 20110215 through 20131105, matching the lightweight release style of many small C utilities. The tool's model is stack-based: it reads JSON from stdin or a file, performs chained operations, and prints JSON or plain-text results.

### Adoption history

jshon reached several Unix package systems, including Homebrew and Linux distribution packages, because it solved a common pre-`jq` shell problem: safely extracting JSON values without embedding a full scripting language in a pipeline.

### How it is used

Users typically pipe JSON into `jshon`, chain extraction and conversion flags, and combine its line-oriented output with ordinary shell tools. The `-F` and `-I` options also support file input and in-place edits for small JSON changes.

### Why package nerds care

jshon is package-nerd interesting because it belongs to the early 2010s wave of tiny JSON-for-shell utilities. Its interface is less famous than `jq`, but it captures a design point where JSON manipulation was deliberately shaped to fit classic Unix pipelines.

### Timeline

- 2011: Date-stamped public tags begin with 20110215.
- 2013: The manual page is dated September 1, 2013.
- 2013: The 20131105 tag appears as the later date-stamped release used by package managers.

### Related projects

- jshon sits in the same problem space as `jq` for querying JSON and `jo` for producing JSON, but its interface emphasizes chained short options and shell-native line output.

### Sources

- <https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/jshon>
- <https://github.com/keenerd/jshon>
- <https://github.com/keenerd/jshon/blob/master/jshon.1>


## Security Notes

generalized runtime or code generation signal.

- **Geiger risk:** yellow / medium
- generalized runtime or code generation signal


## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/jshon.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/jshon.yml)


## Sources

- Nucleus package database
- Geiger risk classifier
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation