compare
jq vs yq
The same facts for both, read from GitHub every night, and the relation a person reviewed.
| Fact | jq | yq |
|---|---|---|
| Language | C | Go |
| Licence | Other | MIT |
| Stars | 36k | 16k |
| Latest | jq-1.8.2 | v4.54.1 |
| Last push | 2026-10-06 | 2026-10-05 |
| Release cadence | about 226 days between releases | about 45 days between releases |
| Active contributors | 13 commit authors on the default branch in the last 90 days | 17 commit authors on the default branch in the last 90 days |
| Flags | none | none |
How they relate
yq replaces jq. Alternatives to jq →
Partialjq-like expressions that also read and write YAML, XML, TOML and CSV, without the full jq language.
jq
yq
- v4.54.12026-09-29v4.54.1 - if-then-else
- v4.53.62026-08-20Fixing release build issue
- v4.53.42026-08-19Close input files after processing each one (#2796) (#2808) Thanks @MsfPablo
- v4.53.32026-06-06Add --ini-preserve-quotes flag for INI round-trip quote preservation (#2728) Thanks @toller892!
- v4.53.22026-04-17Releases and tags now signed and immutable!
jq
✓ signed The latest release, jq-1.8.2, carries a signature GitHub verified.
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yq
unsigned The latest release, v4.54.1, carries no signature GitHub could verify.
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