JSONPath Extractor

A CLI tool and library for extracting and visualizing JSONPath(s) from a JSON object or JSON Schema.
It includes utility functions and a tree representation class for programmatic manipulation and visualization of JSONPath structures.

Features

• Extract JSONPath(s) from a JSON object or JSON Schema
• Output options for leaf-only JSONPath(s) and JSON array formatting
• Visualize JSONPath(s) as a tree structure
• Exportable utility functions for programmatic use:
  • async getJSONPathsFromObject(obj, leaves = false)
  • async getJSONPathsFromSchema(schema, leaves = false)
• Exportable JSONPathsTree class for processing JSONPath(s):
  • Extract leaf nodes from a set of JSONPath(s)
  • Generate a tree-like string representation of JSONPath(s)

Installation

Global Install

To install the tool globally, run:

npm install -g extract-jsonpaths

The tool can then be invoked directly from the command line:

extract-jsonpaths extract <input-file>

Local Install

To make the tool available within a specific project or directory, run:

npm install extract-jsonpaths

The tool can then be invoked using npx or directly from the node_modules local directory:

• Using npx:

  npx extract-jsonpaths extract <input-file>

• From node_modules:

  ./node_modules/.bin/extract-jsonpaths extract <input-file>

Install from Source

Install the package from source after cloning this repository:

git clone https://github.com/alex-massa/extract-jsonpaths.git
cd extract-jsonpaths
npm install .

The tool can then be invoked using Node.js:

node extract-jsonpaths extract <input-file>

Build Options

The Makefile compile goal will build a standalone binary executable which can be distributed to clients not running Node.js.
Optionally specify a platform for compatibility:

make compile                    # Linux
make compile PLATFORM=darwin    # macOS

After compilation, the tool can be invoked via the generated ./extract-jsonpaths binary:

./extract-jsonpaths extract <input-file>

Usage

Extract JSONPath(s)

Extract JSONPath(s) from JSON objects or JSON Schemas using the following commands:

• From a JSON object:

  npx extract-jsonpaths extract <input-file>

• From a JSON Schema (use -s or --from-schema):

  npx extract-jsonpaths extract <input-file> -s
  

Customize Output

• Show only JSONPath(s) for leaf nodes (-l or --leaves):

  npx extract-jsonpaths extract <input-file> -l

• Format output as a JSON array (-j or --json):

  npx extract-jsonpaths extract <input-file> -j

Tree Representation

View a tree representation of the JSONPath(s):

npx extract-jsonpaths tree <input-file>

Examples

• Extract and output leaf JSONPath(s) from a JSON Schema as a JSON array:

  npx extract-jsonpaths extract <input-file> -slj

• Display a tree of JSONPath(s) from a JSON Schema:

  npx extract-jsonpaths tree <input-file> -s

Library Usage

Extracting and Processing JSONPath(s) from a JSON Object

Sample JSON Object

{
    "id": 1,
    "name": "Alice",
    "settings": {
        "theme": "dark"
    }
}

Steps

1. Extract JSONPath(s) using the getJSONPathsFromObject utility function
2. Extract JSONPath(s) leaves using the getJSONPathsFromObject utility function by setting the leaves argument to true
3. Output a tree representation of the JSON object

Code Example

const { getJSONPathsFromObject } = require('extract-jsonpaths/utils');
const JSONPathsTree = require('extract-jsonpaths/lib').default;

(async () => {
    const jsonObject = {
        id: 1,
        name: "Alice",
        settings: {
            theme: "dark",
        },
    };

    // Step 1: Extract JSONPath(s) from the object
    const jsonPaths = await getJSONPathsFromObject(jsonObject);
    console.log("JSONPath(s) extracted from JSON object:");
    console.log([...jsonPaths].join('\n')); 
  
    console.log('---');

    // Step 2: Extract JSONPath(s) leaves from the objet
    const jsonPathsLeaves = await getJSONPathsFromObject(jsonObject, true);
    console.log("JSONPath(s) leaves extracted from JSON object:");
    console.log([...jsonPathsLeaves].join('\n'));

    console.log('---');

    // Step 3: Create a JSONPathsTree and output a tree representation of the JSON object
    const jsonPathsTree = new JSONPathsTree(jsonPaths);
    console.log("Tree representation of JSON object:");
    console.log(jsonPathsTree.toString());
})();

Extracting and Processing JSONPath(s) from a JSON Schema

Sample JSON Schema

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "id": { "type": "integer" },
    "name": { "type": "string" },
    "settings": { "$ref": "#/definitions/settings" }
  },
  "definitions": {
    "settings": {
      "type": "object",
      "properties": { "theme": { "type": "string" } }
    }
  }
}

Steps

1. Extract JSONPath(s) using the getJSONPathsFromSchema utility function
2. Extract JSONPath(s) leaves using the getJSONPathsFromSchema utility function by setting the leaves argument to true
3. Output a tree representation of the JSON Schema

Code Example

const { getJSONPathsFromSchema } = require('extract-jsonpaths/utils');
const JSONPathsTree = require('extract-jsonpaths/lib').default;

(async () => {
    // Step 1: Extract JSONPath(s) from the JSON Schema
    const jsonSchema = {
        type: "object",
        properties: {
            id: { type: "integer" },
            name: { type: "string" },
            settings: { $ref: "#/definitions/settings" }
        },
        definitions: {
            settings: {
                type: "object",
                properties: { theme: { type: "string" } }
            }
        }
    };

    // Step 1: Extract JSONPath(s) from the JSON Schema
    const jsonPaths = await getJSONPathsFromSchema(jsonSchema);
    console.log("JSONPath(s) extracted from JSON Schema:");
    console.log([...jsonPaths].join('\n')); 
  
    console.log('---');

    // Step 2: Extract JSONPath(s) leaves from the JSON Schema
    const jsonPathsLeaves = await getJSONPathsFromSchema(jsonSchema, true);
    console.log("JSONPath(s) leaves extracted from JSON Scheam:");
    console.log([...jsonPathsLeaves].join('\n'));

    console.log('---');

    // Step 3: Create a JSONPathsTree and output a tree representation of the JSON Schema
    const jsonPathsTree = new JSONPathsTree(jsonPaths);
    console.log("Tree representation of JSON Schema:");
    console.log(jsonPathsTree.toString());
})();

Notes

• The extract subcommand is implicit if the user does not specify one:

  npx extract-jsonpaths <input-file>
  

• The tool accepts input from standard input.
  For example:

  cat <input-file> | npx extract-jsonpaths

  This is also valid, and generally performs quicker over input piping:

  < <input-file> npx extract-jsonpaths

• For additional options or help, run the tool with the --help flag.

  npx extract-jsonpaths --help