jc
Converts the output of popular command-line tools and file-types to JSON.
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. jc is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, low install friction, and solves a genuine problem in CLI data processing. The permissive MIT license and broad parser coverage make it a practical choice for automation, scripting, and infrastructure-as-code workflows. Install if you regularly need to extract structured data from command-line tool output.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.6 or later; the target CLI tool (e.g., dig) must be installed and available on the system.
- Low install friction with a pure Python wheel and three straightforward runtime dependencies.
- Actively maintained with a recent release and strong community engagement (8663 GitHub stars).
License · maintenance · safety
MIT (permissive) — MIT license permits unrestricted use, modification, and distribution in both open-source and proprietary projects with minimal obligations.
last release 2026-06-18 (57 days) · last repo commit 2026-06-18 · 8,663 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 603,777 downloads/mo, #5,809 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install jc
import jc
import subprocess
cmd_output = subprocess.check_output(['dig', 'example.com'], text=True)
data = jc.parse('dig', cmd_output)
print(data[0]['answer'])- Complete list of supported parsers and their coverage—the excerpt shows only a partial table.
- Performance characteristics when parsing large command outputs or streaming data.
- Compatibility details with specific versions of ruamel.yaml, xmltodict, or Pygments.
What it is and what it does
jc is a command-line JSON converter that transforms the output of popular CLI tools, file-types, and common strings into structured JSON. It works both as a CLI filter (piping command output through jc) and as a Python library, returning dictionaries or lists of dictionaries instead of raw JSON strings. The package includes parsers for many standard Unix tools and supports both strict schema conversion (with type inference and semantic context) and raw pre-processed output modes.
Typical use cases include shell scripting with jq for further processing, parsing command output in Ansible, Saltstack, and Nornir automation frameworks, and building data pipelines that need structured input from unstructured CLI output. It has three runtime dependencies (ruamel.yaml, xmltodict, Pygments) and requires Python 3.6 or later.
Use it for
- Pipe dig, nslookup, or other network command output through jc and jq to extract specific fields programmatically.
- Parse system command output in Ansible playbooks using the community.general jc filter plugin.
- Convert file-type outputs (e.g., CSV, XML, YAML) to JSON for downstream processing in scripts.
- Build monitoring and alerting systems that ingest CLI tool output and transform it into queryable JSON.
- Automate infrastructure orchestration in Saltstack or Nornir by parsing command results as structured data.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
jc is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, low install friction, and solves a genuine problem in CLI data processing. The permissive MIT license and broad parser coverage make it a practical choice for automation, scripting, and infrastructure-as-code workflows. Install if you regularly need to extract structured data from command-line tool output.
Install
jc on PyPI
Before you install
Low install friction with a pure Python wheel and three straightforward runtime dependencies. Actively maintained with a recent release and strong community engagement (8663 GitHub stars).
Requires Python 3.6 or later; the target CLI tool (e.g., dig) must be installed and available on the system.
License in practice
MIT license permits unrestricted use, modification, and distribution in both open-source and proprietary projects with minimal obligations.
Quickstart
pip install jc
import jc
import subprocess
cmd_output = subprocess.check_output(['dig', 'example.com'], text=True)
data = jc.parse('dig', cmd_output)
print(data[0]['answer'])Verify before relying
- Complete list of supported parsers and their coverage—the excerpt shows only a partial table.
- Performance characteristics when parsing large command outputs or streaming data.
- Compatibility details with specific versions of ruamel.yaml, xmltodict, or Pygments.
Package facts
| License | MIT permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.6 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 3 packagesruamel.yamlxmltodictPygments |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 57 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 603,777 / month, #5,809 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | License :: OSI Approved :: MIT LicenseOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Topic :: Utilities |
Evidence: jc-1.25.7-py3-none-any.whl
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