Release v1.7.0 · 2,610 yq programs agree

yq energy.
zero baggage.

Program YAML with one portable shell script. No package manager. No language runtime. No mystery binary. Just /bin/sh, AWK, and a frankly unreasonable amount of ambition.

Get YAML.sh Read the docs

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config.yml — ysh POSIX

1services:

2 - name: api

3 enabled: true

4 - name: worker

5 enabled: false

6 - name: web

7 enabled: true

$ ysh '.services[] | select(.enabled) | .name' config.yml

api
web

MAP + REDUCE◆ COMMENTS SURVIVE◆ PIPES + SELECT◆ ANCHORS + ALIASES◆ MERGE KEYS◆ TAGS + TYPES◆ EMPTY COLLECTIONS◆ ENV + EVAL-ALL

Structure all the way through

It parses before it queries.

YAML.sh parses a proper node graph before evaluating expressions. Mappings, sequences, tags, anchors, aliases, and source lines stay intact from input to output.

Read

Portable AWK recognizes mappings, sequences, flow nodes, scalars, tags, anchors, and documents.

Resolve

Aliases and merge sources connect through node identity, with precedence and recursion validation.

Program

Paths, environment values, reducers, assignments, and cross-file merges operate on real node references with identity and type intact.

Tiny commands. Serious YAML.

Meet the new CLI.

Compose files without inviting another runtime.

$ ysh ea 'select(fileIndex == 0) * select(fileIndex == 1)' defaults.yml production.yml
{"replicas":3,"region":"west"}

Collections become clean, typed JSON.

$ ysh -o=json '.services[0]' config.yml
{"name":"api","enabled":true,"port":8080}

Change a real file in place. The comments get to stay.

$ ysh -i '.services[] | select(.enabled) | .tier = "active"' config.yml

$ ysh '.services[].tier' config.yml
active
backend
active

Open the hood whenever the YAML gets weird.

$ ysh --type '.release.date' config.yml
timestamp

$ ysh --ast config.yml
node  1  mapping  line=1

01 / PORTABLE

Built for the machines between machines.

Bootstrap containers, CI runners, old Macs, tiny servers, and recovery shells. If the system has /bin/sh and AWK, YAML.sh is ready.

macOS AWKmawk + original AWKBusyBox + POSIX gawk

02 / PRECISE

Keys stay keys.

Use .["key.with.dots"] when punctuation belongs to the YAML—not the query.

03 / HONEST

A tested subset.

Full pinned outcomes, strict rejection, generated properties, and explicit limits—without claiming that one corpus is the whole language.

Read the support contract

04 / HACKABLE

One file. Open book.

The shipped executable contains the complete shell launcher and AWK engine. Read it, copy it, bend it.

05 / OBSERVABLE

AST and events included.

--ast and --events turn parser internals into first-class debugging tools.

Install the current release

One pipe.
Then go query something.

The installer downloads and checksum-verifies a pinned release, then places ysh in /usr/local/bin. Set YSH_INSTALL_DIR to choose another location.

Terminalv1.7.0

curl -fsSL https://yaml.azohra.com/install | sh

Prefer to inspect first? Read the installer source.

yq energy.zero baggage.