How to install jq

jq is a processor for JSON documents on the command line. Everything below is context rather than instruction — the project publishes its own material, and this note simply points at what matters.

How it reaches a system

In practice this means one of a handful of routes: an operating system package index, a registry tied to a language, a version manager, or a source tree built with the project's own tooling. Which one applies is decided by the platform and by the maintainers.

Who is behind it

The project is self-governed. Whoever maintains it chooses what ships and when, and writes the accompanying material.

Prior checks

Check platform support first. Recent work in this space generally assumes a current runtime and a reasonably modern system.

Making sense of the result

Most unexpected behaviour traces back to resolution rather than to the project. An older copy sitting earlier in the path, or a version manager pointing somewhere else, will do it every time.

About this site

These pages exist as notes. No files are hosted, and no project material is reproduced on this domain.

Keeping environments clean

Isolating environments, whether with a version manager or per-project directories, removes a whole category of confusing behaviour later on.