jsontools

Pipe-friendly JSON helpers for when full jq syntax is overkill. The plugin picks the first available backend (node → python3 → ruby) at load time.

Command	Does
pp_json	pretty-print JSON from stdin
is_json	prints true/false, exit code to match
urlencode_json	URL-encode stdin (for JSON in query strings)
urldecode_json	decode it back

Pro tips

• pp_json is the zero-thought pretty-printer: curl -s https://api.example.com | pp_json, pbpaste | pp_json, pp_json < ~/.claude.json. When you're debugging an MCP config blob and just need it readable, this beats remembering that the jq identity filter is ..
• is_json is built for scripts and pipelines — it sets the exit code, so curl -s $url | is_json && echo ok is a one-line sanity check on an API response before you feed it to something stricter.
• Each helper has an NDJSON twin (pp_ndjson, is_ndjson, urlencode_ndjson, urldecode_ndjson) that applies the function per line — handy for streaming logs and JSONL exports.
• These complement, not replace, the jq/yq pair from the Brewfile: reach for jsontools to look at JSON, reach for jq to transform it.
• Backend choice is overridable with JSONTOOLS_METHOD=node|python3|ruby. Quirk worth knowing: the ruby backend's pp_json emits YAML, which is occasionally exactly what you want.