JSONPath Query Language

A complete reference for using JSONPath expressions in the JSON Formatter tool.

What is JSONPath?

JSONPath is a query language for JSON data, similar to how XPath works for XML. It lets you navigate into a JSON structure and extract specific values using a concise expression syntax.

In the JSON Formatter, type a JSONPath expression into the JSONPath input field. Matching results appear above the tree, and matched nodes are highlighted in blue.

Syntax Reference

Expression	Description	Example
$	The root object	$
.key	Child property access	$.store.name
['key']	Bracket notation (for special characters in keys)	$['first-name']
[n]	Array index (0-based, negative supported)	$.items[0]
[*]	Wildcard — all items in an array or all values in an object	$.items[*].name
.*	Wildcard (dot notation)	$.store.*
..	Recursive descent — searches all levels	$..name
[start:end]	Array slice (start inclusive, end exclusive)	$.items[0:3]
[?()]	Filter expression	$.items[?(@.price < 10)]
.length	Array or object length	$.items.length

Examples

Given this sample JSON:

{
  "store": {
    "books": [
      { "title": "The Great Gatsby", "author": "Fitzgerald", "price": 10.99, "year": 1925 },
      { "title": "To Kill a Mockingbird", "author": "Lee", "price": 8.99, "year": 1960 },
      { "title": "1984", "author": "Orwell", "price": 7.99, "year": 1949 },
      { "title": "Pride and Prejudice", "author": "Austen", "price": 6.99, "year": 1813 }
    ],
    "location": { "city": "New York", "country": "US" }
  }
}

Basic Property Access

Query	Result
$.store.location.city	`"New York"`
$.store.books[0].title	`"The Great Gatsby"`
$.store.books[-1].title	`"Pride and Prejudice"` (last item)

Wildcards

Query	Result
$.store.books[*].title	`["The Great Gatsby", "To Kill a Mockingbird", "1984", "Pride and Prejudice"]`
$.store.*	All direct children of store (the books array and location object)

Recursive Descent

The .. operator searches through all nested levels:

Query	Result
$..author	`["Fitzgerald", "Lee", "Orwell", "Austen"]`
$..price	`[10.99, 8.99, 7.99, 6.99]`

Array Slicing

Slice syntax is [start:end] where start is inclusive and end is exclusive. Negative indices count from the end.

Query	Result
$.store.books[0:2]	First two books (index 0 and 1)
$.store.books[-2:]	Last two books
$.store.books[::2]	Every other book (step of 2)

Filter Expressions

Filter expressions use [?()] syntax with @ referring to the current element. You can use comparison operators (==, !=, <, >, <=, >=) and logical operators (&&, ||).

Query	Result
$.store.books[?(@.price < 9)]	Books cheaper than $9 (Lee, Orwell, Austen)
$.store.books[?(@.year > 1900)]	Books published after 1900 (Gatsby, Mockingbird, 1984)
$.store.books[?(@.price < 9 && @.year > 1900)]	Cheap books from 20th century onward (Lee, Orwell)

Length

Query	Result
$.store.books.length	`4`

Combining Expressions

You can chain expressions to drill down into filtered results:

Query	Result
$.store.books[?(@.price < 9)].title	`["To Kill a Mockingbird", "1984", "Pride and Prejudice"]`
$.store.books[0:2].author	`["Fitzgerald", "Lee"]`

Tips

All expressions must start with $ (the root).
Hover any node in the tree to see its full path. Click to copy the path.
Use the Search field for simple text filtering and the JSONPath field for structured queries — they work independently.
When a JSONPath query is active, matching nodes are highlighted in blue in the tree and their parent nodes are auto-expanded.
Results appear above the tree with a match count badge. Click Copy to copy the query results as JSON.
Recursive descent (..) is useful when you know the key name but not its exact location in the structure.
Filter expressions support any JavaScript comparison — ==, !=, <, >, <=, >=, &&, ||.

Ready to try it out?

Open JSON Formatter